Lewis Hamilton says that Ferrari was not as superior in the French Grand Prix as its 30s winning margin over the McLaren suggested.
The British rookie ran close behind Kimi Raikkonen in the opening stages, but his three stop strategy meant he visited the pits one more time than the Ferraris, and ultimately finished 32s adrift.
But after the race Hamilton insisted that his strategy had made Ferrari appear more dominant than it really was.
"I don't think they were as quick as they looked today, not that much faster," said Hamilton.
"I don't know what times they were doing, but there was obviously a big gap and traffic and strategy had a lot to do with that."
He believed his decision to drive conservatively once he realised victory was out of reach hadfurtherinflated Ferrari's advantage.
"At the end, when I came out of my third pit stop I knew that I was 20 seconds already behind so there was no point in wrenching the neck out of the engine," Lewis said.
Hamilton does not think McLaren has any cause for concern despite Ferrari interrupting its run of dominant performances.
"I don't think it is worrying," he said.
"I just think it shows they have made a good step forward and they obviously had a very good strategy which worked slightly better than ours today."
Source: ITV.com/F1
Log in to comment