Massa disputes Hamilton’s rookie tag
''You cannot see him as a rookie...”
30/06/07 19:30
Lewis Hamilton on Saturday claimed he was still a raw rookie who will make mistakes after a slight error cost him pole position for Sunday's French Grand Prix.
Hamilton said that after seven successive podium finishes he believed he was still a newcomer. But his fellow-drivers, led by Felipe Massa protested that it was not possible to regard him as a rookie any longer.
"No, definitely not!" said Massa. "You cannot see him as a rookie. No. You never see a guy in the first year leading the championship so, for sure, not. He is no rookie at all."
Hamilton, however, disagreed. "I still believe it is the same. I am still in my first season," clarified the McLaren racer.
Hamilton, showing remarkable aplomb for such an inexperienced and young driver when besieged by the media, said he was enjoying his relationship with his rival drivers, notably Massa.
"We get on very well and a lot of the drivers here get on very well and we have a lot of respect for each other off the track," he said. "But then, when you get on the track, you are there to do a job and you are there to compete and beat each other and once you know the boundaries and, you know, we've obviously had some close races this year, we know where we are on the circuit, so we have trust.”
"It doesn't make it hard to race each other. In the race, you are enemies, well not enemies, but fierce competitors, and off the track you are good friends."
E.A.
Source AFP
