17 June 2023 , 23:07
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Lewis Hamilton aims to give Fernando Alonso "hell" during the Canadian Grand Prix after qualifying one place behind him.
Hamilton was fourth quickest in Q3 with team-mate George Russell one place further back. Both of them will try to reel in Alonso, who is gunning for a sixth podium in eight races so far this season.
Hamilton was fortunate to be in that position. A tyre strategy error left him on intermediate tyres in Q2, putting him in danger of an early exit alongside Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
But while they both dropped out, the Brit scraped through and took advantage with a good lap in the wet. And while he admits pole-sitter Max Verstappen will be out of reach, the seven-time world champion fancies a battle with his old rival Alonso.
He said: "We are ahead of the Ferraris. Max will be gone most likely, But if I can hold onto Alonso and give him hell that's what I'll do." Considering the treacherous conditions, Hamilton appeared very pleased with what Mercedes achieved.
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He added: "I think most people underestimate how hard it was out there for everybody. It was really hard to keep the car on track and deliver when the time counts. It was very very slippery, it was really difficult to generate temperature in the tyres.
But, yeah, that's a great result for George and I as well. Hopefully from there we can move forwards. We should be in a much better position for race pace. Our race pace is often better and I'm hoping it is tomorrow. It's difficult to gauge yesterday because we did our long run at the beginning of the session when the track was a lot slower."
George Russell admitted his surprise at his qualifying result (Sky Sports)Russell made similar points about fighting Alonso and probably not having the chance to catch Verstappen. But the younger Brit also admitted his surprise about qualifying fifth after struggling for speed a little in the wetter Q3 conditions.
He said: "I think after FP3 I would have taken P5. I think there was a bit more there and we definitely performed better when the track was drier. When the track got wet in Q3 the car wasn't quite as competitive. To be honest, when I crossed the line I was surprised to end up in that position.
"It's a good place to start for tomorrow and our race pace is good. We've only got Fernando in front of us and that will be our challenge. Max is obviously going to be in a league of his own out there tomorrow, but let's bring it on. We're feeling positive about dry conditions tomorrow and our race pace in practice was decent. There's no reason why we can't fight for a podium."