Planet-F1

Lewis delighted with 'useful haul of points'

Wednesday 27th August 2008

While he didn't walk away with the win at the European Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was more than happy with the "useful haul of points" he collected in Valencia.

The McLaren driver now has a six-point lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship after finishing second behind Felipe Massa, while World Champion Kimi Raikkonen is a further seven points back following his retirement in Spain.

Hamilton admits he was happy to play it safe on the streets of Valencia, and wasn't too upset about losing a couple of points to the Brazilian.

"Clearly, I want to win all the time, but I've learned that sometimes it's more advantageous to score as many points as possible and live to fight another day," he told his official website.

"My aim is still to win the World Championship and you don't do that by ending up in the barriers after making an opportunistic move.

"In Valencia, we scored a very useful haul of points and I've actually come away from the weekend having extended my lead in the Championship despite losing two points to Felipe.

"I'm mentally strong enough to be able to deal with that - and I'm more relaxed about it too. I'm playing a long game."