• German Grand Prix

Hamilton hopes upgrades will reignite title challenge

Lewis Hamilton has scored just four points in his last two races while Fernando Alonso has amassed 43 © Press Association

Enlarge

Related Links

• Race:
• German Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Lewis Hamilton

• Teams:
• McLaren

Lewis Hamilton hopes that McLaren's upgrades will allow it to challenge for victory in the German Grand Prix and get him back in the title race.

After finishing eighth at Silverstone, Hamilton has now fallen 37 points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso having himself led the standings just two races ago. Looking ahead to the race weekend at Hockenheim Hamilton said that he was relaxed because he knew how hard the team was working and with 11 races left he still has plenty of time to close the gap to the leaders.

"I feel less concerned today simply because the team have been under a great amount of pressure to bring upgrades and we have been under a lot of pressure to get the results," Hamilton said. "But regardless, the guys have been not giving up and they keep pushing and we've hopefully got some upgrades this weekend that will - I hope - put us back in the fight. Who knows? But it definitely will make the car better than it was.

"There's still a long, long way to go, and with the way the championship has gone so far anything can happen still, there's so much to play for still. I think the most important thing is to just not give up and keep pushing; try to get those points -more points than we have been getting - and there's still enough time to claw back this championship."

Hamilton also said that his confidence in the team hadn't wavered despite its recent poor form, as he prepares to open contract negotiations with McLaren over the summer break.

"I don't think so, no. They just constantly do come back, all the time. The support I've had in this team; not many people get to see the support I've had from Ron [Dennis], from Norbert [Haug], from Martin [Whitmarsh] - even more closely with Martin in the last few years, through tough times, through good times and bad times, they stay with you as they're true, loyal people. So I don't take that for granted."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.