Lewis Hamilton eyes victory at Hungarian Grand Prix
Page last updated at 17:18 GMT, Friday, 29 July 2011 18:18 UK
Hamilton hopeful ahead of Hungarian GP
Lewis Hamilton is confident he can follow up his victory at the German Grand Prix by challenging for another triumph in Hungary on Sunday.
The McLaren driver went fastest in both of Friday's practice sessions to raise his hopes of claiming consecutive wins for the first time in more than a year.
"I do feel we can challenge the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, which is exciting," said Hamilton.
"We'll be pushing and of course [back-to-back victories] is our target."
The 26-year-old produced a best time of one minute, 23.350 seconds in the first session and 1:21.018 in the second to pick up where he left off at the Nurburgring.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was his closest challenger in the morning with a 1:23.564, while Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was second fastest in the afternoon with a 1:21.259.
World champion Vettel currently leads the drivers' championship on 216 points, with team-mate Mark Webber second on 139 and Hamilton third on 134.
"It's a great feeling to start on a high," said Hamilton. "The climate is working quite well for us as it's not as hot as it usually is here.
LAST FIVE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX POLE-SITTERS
- 2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
- 2009 - Fernando Alonso (Renault)
- 2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
- 2007 - Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
- 2006 - Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren)
"We have a couple more things here this weekend, which in such short space of time is really impressive. It's early to say what's going to happen but I think we can compete with the guys at the front."
Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button, who was forced to retire at the last two grands prix in Britain and Germany, was third fastest.
"This is a circuit where Red Bull were very quick last year and I don't think they will lose all their advantage," said Button.
"Ferrari are very good on high-speed corners but we seem to be very good in the low-speed corners, the first and last sector.
"I'm enjoying driving the car a lot more than at the last race and with a few tweaks to it, I think we can be competitive."
Hungarian GP second practice
Alonso, who secured his first win of the season at Silverstone, sits fourth in the standings on 130 points and is predicting a tight contest.
"It's quite open at the moment in terms of strategy and how competitive the top three are," he said.
"It can be very close to what we saw at the Nurburgring, more than one or two cars fighting for victory so that's good news."
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
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