• Monaco Grand Prix

Hamilton targeting top-three grid position

Lewis Hamilton heads out in practice © Getty Images

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• Race:
• Monaco Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Jenson Button
• |
• Lewis Hamilton

• Teams:
• McLaren

Lewis Hamilton is aiming to be in the top three after qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.

McLaren appeared to be a little off the pace during Thursday's practice sessions, with Hamilton finishing in seventh place overall. However, he said the car was fundamentally fast around the street circuit and that with some minor changes he could improve his lap times.

"Obviously, we weren't at the top of the timesheets, but I've really been enjoying driving around here today," he said. "When you're at Monaco, things just seem to happen so much faster than normal - it feels two or three times quicker than at other circuits. You're always on the edge, and if you brake just a little bit too late, then you'll be in the barrier. It's an incredible feeling.

"More importantly, this year's car just feels fantastic - it's light years ahead of last year's car. And we made some good steps forward with the set-up. Of course, everyone at the front of the grid is looking pretty competitive, but I think we should be okay. We'll do our homework tonight. Qualifying is going to be tough, I hope the weather stays okay for us and that we can fight for a spot in the top three."

Jenson Button was even slower than Hamilton in the second McLaren and suspected he may have made a mistake with his set-up in the afternoon.

"This morning felt good, we went through some positive set-up changes and I felt pretty happy with the car," he said. "For P2, we made some further changes, but I don't think all of them were an improvement. So we went back in a few areas, and our long-run pace was good, so I'm feeling very happy about that. Tomorrow, we've still got a little bit of work to do to understand what's best for low fuel and new tyres. But I think we understand where we've got to be, because we were on the pace this morning."

He added that Red Bull, which finished the last session third and tenth, had yet to show its hand.

"Overall, the Ferrari looks very quick, and I'm pretty sure Red Bull are hiding their pace. But it's the normal cars up at the front, and I'm sure we'll get a better idea on Saturday morning."

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