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Hamilton still wary of tyre 'surprises' despite Mercedes' gains

Lewis Hamilton remains wary of any surprises when working with Pirelli's Formula 1 tyres despite Mercedes' work to get on top of its issues in finding the right operating window.

Hamilton and Mercedes struggled to find the right operating window with the softer tyre compounds in the early part of the season, particularly in warmer conditions, allowing Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel to pull clear at the front of the pack.

Mercedes made significant progress in a bid to understand its so-called ‘diva' W08 car, allowing Hamilton to cut the gap to Vettel in the drivers' championship thanks to victories in Canada and Great Britain.

While Hamilton is delighted with the progress Mercedes has made in finding the right operating window for its tyres, he is refusing to take anything for granted.

"I think we've come a long way. I think we are definitely on top of it, but there are still traps we are aware of," Hamilton said.

"We have blistering, and the blistering is shown in the last few races that the cars go faster, pushing the tyres harder, that's appearing. Understanding where that comes from, that shifts from track to track.

"We've seen the blowout that Ferraris had at Silverstone. It's a constant study and something we are surveying all of the time.

"Same for me as a driver, I sit with my tyre engineers and I am constantly picking their brains just trying to make sure that I understand how to utilise them more, how far I can push them.

"That's going to be an ongoing thing as we go through these next ten races as we continue to learn more about them.

"We have definitely in a good place, but there are still some surprises that could come up I guess."

Zdroj: crash.net