Dennis hails 'phenomenal' Hamilton

10:34am Monday 12th May 2008

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has described Lewis Hamilton's Turkish Grand Prix performance as "a phenomenal drive".

Despite the team opting for a three-stop strategy due to safety fears regarding his tyres, Hamilton claimed a superb second place at the Istanbul Park circuit, finishing within four seconds of Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen was forced to settle for third place.

"We saw a truly phenomenal drive from Lewis in which he optimised a three-stop strategy we were forced to adopt as a consequence of concerns we had with his tyres," said Dennis.

"It was a structural concern with the tyres, so we took a decision with Bridgestone to run three stops.

"We didn't want to have any tyre failure, and although we could have run two stops, we put the safety of the driver first.

"Lewis did a great job and we can now look forward to Monaco and Montreal."

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