Williams: « Hamilton will be stronger in 2008 »

Frank Williams, the head of the eponymous team, thinks Lewis Hamilton would have been unbeatable this year if he had been behind the wheel of a Ferrari. The Scuderia’s cars will be as fast as they were during testing…

The McLaren driver had a superb start to the 2007 season, before finishing second in the championship just one point behind the world champion Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari.

Williams believes Hamilton will be stronger this season.

« I would say better, » declared Sir Williams when asked how Hamilton would perform in 2008.

« If you look closely at the situation, Ferrari has often been the fastest over long distances. McLaren will show strong opposition and Hamilton will therefore have to manage his races based on this parameter. But he will be better than last year. »

« If the F2008 is the most competitive car this year, we should all, including the fans, say to ourselves: ‘Thank God, Hamilton is not in a Ferrari, otherwise there would be no interest in following a race.’

He added: « He is certainly, first and foremost, a competitor, but what I observe is that he is very well-informed, I suppose by his family, and for his young age, he is extremely mature. »

« He made a few mistakes in certain races. These now require drivers to be sufficiently intelligent from a technical standpoint, for example, to understand the car’s systems. »

Hamilton lost the title last year during the final round of the 2007 championship, where, in contrast, Räikkönen had a strong finish to the season to clinch the crown.

Despite his first title, Williams believes that Räikkönen is not yet as solid as he could be.

« I don’t know Kimi very well. He is a talented driver, as good as anyone, but his weakness is that he doesn’t show enough that all his victories and his title truly matter to him, » explained Williams from London.