Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is hoping he can rely on pure performance and not good fortune as formula one returns to Europe this weekend. But his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is warning the champions they face an intensified scarp for glory in the Spanish Grand Prix , a race that has seen plenty of drama and excitement in recent seasons.
Hamilton , the 33 ear old four time world champion, secured an unlikely and unexpected four point lead in the drivers title ace when he won at last month's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a series of accidents and incidents removed his rivals from the fray. It was his first win this season extending his un of successful points scoring finishes to a record 29 races and he was quick to admit it was one of the luckiest of his career after Ferrairi had been dominant. " There's been two weird races which have kept us in the mix", he said.
"But we know that w can't rely on that for the mext 17 races , or however many there are left we need ultimate performance and confidence in the car," he added.
Hamilton has won twice at the Circute de Catalunya in the last four years, having secured pole three times in that time on a track where the prime starting position often decides the outcome.
But this time around, he arrives on the back foot despite his championship lead and with chief rival and fellow four time champion Sebastrian Vettel hunting his fourth consecutive pole position, but first in Spain.
Hamilton , the 33 ear old four time world champion, secured an unlikely and unexpected four point lead in the drivers title ace when he won at last month's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a series of accidents and incidents removed his rivals from the fray. It was his first win this season extending his un of successful points scoring finishes to a record 29 races and he was quick to admit it was one of the luckiest of his career after Ferrairi had been dominant. " There's been two weird races which have kept us in the mix", he said.
"But we know that w can't rely on that for the mext 17 races , or however many there are left we need ultimate performance and confidence in the car," he added.
Hamilton has won twice at the Circute de Catalunya in the last four years, having secured pole three times in that time on a track where the prime starting position often decides the outcome.
But this time around, he arrives on the back foot despite his championship lead and with chief rival and fellow four time champion Sebastrian Vettel hunting his fourth consecutive pole position, but first in Spain.