Lewis Hamilton is performing somewhat better this weekend, having qualified 2nd with his teammate Nico Rosberg once again taking pole position. 

Both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have been confident in the run-up to the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, with the 28-year-old 2008 Formula 1 World Champion being even happier with the close support of his bulldog Roscoe. 

LEWIS HAMILTON’S MIXED OPTIMISM

Lewis believes he is now revived and ready to win. “The short break has been good and I've had the chance to catch up with family and friends, and also spend some time at the factory with the guys, working on our efforts to improve”, the 28-year-old said. “We've been boosted by the results that we''ve had at the start of the season and to come away from the first four races with two third and two fifth places feels like a real achievement. 

“I'm feeling very comfortable in the car now and we know the areas that we need to improve so a lot of effort is being put in to close that gap to the front-runners. Barcelona should be a good test as we know the circuit so well having completed most of the pre-season test programme there. The weekend should be a good benchmark of the progress we have made since then.”

But after qualifying 2nd, he had a slightly different view. “I’m very proud to be able to get a front row for the team. But, as Nico said, we’ve got to approach it with caution because tomorrow is going to be tough but today I didn’t have two option sets at the end, which would have helped a little bit but I think was just quicker today.

“My side of the grid isn’t really the place to be. These two have a good position on the cleaner side but we’ll do the best job we can from the start but I think more the concern is tyre degradation. Looking after those tyres is going to be an interesting one. I really hope that we can try and get into turn one first, in a 1-2, that’d be really good for the team.”

NICO ROSBERG’S MISSION TO GET HIS SEASON UNDER WAY

So far this season, Nico Rosberg has struggled for race pace. And been incredibly unlucky too. But having stormed to pole position in Bahrain and yesterday in Spain, it would appear the 27-year-old German could finally transform his pace on Saturday into a win this Sunday.

Before qualifying, Rosberg said: “We know that the car went very well at the Circuit de Catalunya in pre-season testing so I am hopeful that we can have a strong weekend. We will have to wait and see how our pace compares. I've been in the factory for a couple of days this week, on the simulator and meeting with the team, and everyone has been working hard to make progress on our race day performance. 

“It will be an interesting weekend and once we see how everyone performs in Barcelona, it should give a good idea of how the rest of the season will look.”

And if that is true, then the rest of the season is looking very good for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg – who look to both be in contention for many wins to come. But Rosberg has some catching up to do. 

“Things just worked really well the whole weekend and we just optimised everything,” explained Rosberg after qualifying on pole position yesterday. “Of course, after Bahrain thinking about the race a lot, also, so surprised that we could be that quick today. But it all went perfectly in qualifying and I had a really good lap in the end. 

“I’m really, really happy with that. It’s always a good motivation boost and everything, especially for the team - front row, fantastic. But of course I have to be a bit cautious because of what happened in Bahrain, so for sure, nice but to be enjoyed with caution.”

But before he gets carried away, the Mercedes GP driver - currently 9th in the 2013 Formula One World Championship - has warned he must not become overconfident, especially as Mercedes continue to have problems with tyre degradation in races – something that have plagued the team for years. 

“Everyone has been working really, really hard back in the factory to understand even better our problems,” he said. “You know, it’s really an ongoing process, understanding how to get the most out of these tyres. It’s really, really complex, for us drivers, for the engineers, for everybody and we’re just a bit behind at the moment. I’m sure we’ve caught up now.

“But then you come here and there’s different issues again because here it’s more the graining of the tyres that’s the main issue. And so then again here we were trying to catch up and make the most of that situation. 

“I think we’ve improved things. This morning things were looking at little bit better, so I’m a little bit more confident for tomorrow but still the race is going to a whole different thing, with the tyres it’s a big challenge.”

Nico Rosberg is a realistic gentleman – conservative and optimistic at the same time. “To win, it is not good enough to start from pole,” he said. “You need to have the fastest car.”

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