While Hamilton failed to execute Mercedes’ intended two-stop strategy at
Albert Park, as the rapid degradation of his Pirelli supersofts forced him
into the pits for a third time, his fifth position fortified his self-belief
ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. “I’m really positive,” he said,
after his own performance eclipsed that of the struggling McLarens, who
trailed home in ninth and 11th.
“None of us were expecting too much straight off. I admit that we could have
done even better, we had the capability. But our understanding of the tyres
has improved, since these tyres had a lot taken out of them during the
race. For the next race I think that we will be much stronger – we have a
good development platform. I’m really happy with that first result. We can
use the 10 points as a base. Everyone was talking us down but I hope this is
the beginning of better things.”
Although his team-mate Nico Rosberg had been forced to drop out on lap 27 with
electronic failure, Hamilton claimed that the effect of his own success had
been to galvanise Mercedes as they headed for the intense humidity of
Sepang. “I definitely feel that the team are flat out They are on it. We’re
moving in the right direction and we have some bits coming that I hope can
allow us to make the next step.”
Explaining that his new team’s start to the season had eclipsed even his
expectations, after he had spent much of winter testing denying that
Mercedes had the slightest chance of challenging for the 2013 world title,
Hamilton said: “I didn’t envisage it going as well, definitely not. I just
thought it would be a positive, and it’s even more so. It is satisfying for
me, just as it is for the team. Every bit of detail that I can gauge on the
car is fed straight back in. They are such hungry people here.”