Lewis Hamilton's second successive victory

Lewis Hamilton increases the momentum behind his F1 title bid with a second successive victory.

Lewis Hamilton insisted he was thrilled with his second successive victory in the 2010 F1 season in Canada – reflecting afterwards that he was hopeful that McLaren would now be able to make the most of the increasing momentum behind the Woking-based team.

In a dramatic race in Montreal, the scene of his maiden F1 victory back in 2007, Hamilton was able to master challenging conditions brought about by severe tyre wear to lead McLaren to a second straight 1-2 finish..

The victory also allowed Hamilton to jump into the lead of the drivers' championship standings.

“It was an incredibly challenging afternoon, especially in the last 20 laps, when I was trying to look after my tyres while also keeping Jenson and Fernando [Alonso] behind me,” he said. “It wasn't easy, I can tell you that!

“In terms of pure pace, I still think the Red Bull car is still a little bit faster than ours. But, as a whole, I think our package is now stronger. So, going forward, we need to build on the progress we've made recently, and we're going to do just that; we'll now knuckle down and make a really big effort to increase that gap.

“We've got good momentum now, so I hope we can continue our winning run through to Valencia in two weeks' time.”

Hamilton added that the whole McLaren team had been lifted by recent results and insisted that things were now 'better than ever' as he and Jenson Button chase championship success.

“The feeling and atmosphere within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is better than ever,” he said. “The contribution that Jenson has brought is the best I've ever witnessed from a team-mate. He did another great job today to come from fourth to second – he's doing his part and I'm doing mine. The team is happier than ever.

“This has been a truly fantastic day.”