Turkish GP in 90 seconds
Lewis Hamilton is anticipating further on-track tussles with McLaren team-mate Jenson Button following their one-two finish at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The 2008 world champion took his first victory of the season, but was passed by Button with eight laps to go before retaking the lead straight afterwards.
"There are 12 races left and I'd be surprised if we weren't racing each other soon," said Hamilton.
"The last laps were fun, proper racing, but fun and fair," added Button.
Defending world champion Button's second-placed finish took him to 88 points in the drivers' championship, just five points behind Red Bull's leader Mark Webber, who finished in third place despite a controversial crash with team-mate Sebastian Vettel on lap 40.
Qualifying pace is still something that we're not entirely satisfied with Jenson Button |
Hamilton's win moved him up into third, nine points behind Webber.
With the Red Bulls out of the running at Istanbul Park, it was left to McLaren's English duo to stage an enthralling race for the lead.
Button had briefly taken the lead when he went around the outside of Turn 12 eight laps from the chequered flag, but the two MP4-25s brushed wheels as Hamilton reclaimed the lead as both drivers headed into Turn One.
"It was great to be able to race with Lewis, it's actually the first time in our careers that we've actually been able to do that, and he's a very fair guy on the track," added Button.
"It was tricky in those closing laps, because we knew we were pretty marginal on fuel, but the team lets us race and that's exactly what we did. Lewis and I had a good scrap."
And Hamilton said he is looking forward to competing against his team-mate in the remaining races this season.
"Our eyes are open to the fact that it will happen again, that'll be cool because he's a good guy to race with," said the 25-year-old.
The conclusion of their battle for the lead was very different to that of the Red Bull drivers, whose team have been trying to manage the fall-out from their collision ever since.
On Thursday, the team issued a statement saying Vettel and Webber had had a meeting with team bosses Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko which "draws a line" under the incident.
But it will inevitably be the major talking point when the teams arrive in Canada for the eighth race of the season on 13 June.
Hamilton has fond memories of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, the scene of his maiden grand prix victory in 2007 after taking pole.
"It's such a fast, demanding and unforgiving circuit - I love racing there," said Hamilton.
"It's an incredibly tough track - even if you can avoid the walls, which are really close and exciting at some places, the surface is very treacherous offline because of all the marbles. It's a place where you don't want to make even a tiny mistake."
Despite their second one-two podium finish this season in Istanbul, Button insists McLaren must develop their one-lap pace to compete with Red Bull's superior pace in qualifying.
"Qualifying pace is still something that we're not entirely satisfied with, but we're pleased that we do appear to have closed the gap to Red Bull," said the 30-year-old.
"Certainly, if you look at our relative pace in Barcelona, and compare it with Istanbul, then we do seem to be closer. We're not there yet, but we think we've got a good package for Canada, and we're working hard to bring a series of larger improvements to the car later on in the summer."
Meanwhile, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is confident the layout of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will suit the MP4-25 cars.
"It's a low-downforce track where straight-line speed is fundamental to a good lap time," he said.
"Once again, we'll be looking for another strong result before the circus returns to Europe for the rest of the summer."
Source: bbc.com
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