Second place is such a bonus, elated McLaren ace reveals.
Lewis Hamilton has expressed his jubilation at finishing second in the Turkish Grand Prix - a race he had at one point looked like winning - confessing that he had expected to take the chequered flag no higher than fifth and calling it his 'best race ever'.
The young British star began from third position after admitting to having gone the wrong way on trye choice for his final lap in qualifying, but a characteristically aggressive start saw him slot in behind pole-sitter Felipe Massa by the first corner, and he would hound the Brazilian throughout the opening half of the race.
A supreme move into turn twelve on lap 24 propelled his McLaren-Mercedes into the lead, and though a tyre-dictated three-stop strategy would ultimately see him fall three seconds shy of victory, a magnificent performance nevertheless enabled Hamilton to get the better of the sister Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen - and close the nine-point gap on the Finn at the head of the drivers' standings into the bargain.
"I am so thrilled with today's result," the 23-year-old enthused afterwards, "and I think this is the best race ever for me. It's not about winning - it's about feeling that you extract 100 per cent from yourself and the car - and I did that today. Before the race our prediction was that all being well I would finish fifth, so second is such a bonus.
"I was not happy with my performance yesterday, and perhaps if I had managed to get the car on pole I could have won. However, we knew that we would have to use a three-stop strategy as a precaution as we had some issues with our tyres.
"The team did a fantastic job, the pit-stops were great, the balance of the car was superb and we all kept our spirits up. There were no problems with the tyres in the race. I managed to overtake Felipe at one point, and I really think we have closed the gap to Ferrari. I am so excited about the next race in Monaco and just can't wait."
Indeed, Hamilton came close to triumphing around the tortuous streets of the principality last year too, and McLaren is expected to hold an edge over its arch-rival from Maranello both there and a fortnight later in Montreal, scene of the former GP2 Champion's maiden grand prix success eleven months ago.
The Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport President Norbert Haug were equally effusive about both their young charge's performance in Istanbul and McLaren's chances in the races to come, and confident that the squad is now firmly on the comeback trail after a stuttering start to the season.
"Today we saw a truly phenomenal drive from Lewis," underlined Dennis, "in which he optimised a three-stop strategy that we were forced to adopt as a consequence of concerns we had with his tyres. As a result of the eight points that his second-placed finish netted him, he closed the gap on Kimi in the world drivers' championship to just seven points. I believe we have closed the gap to our main competition, which gives the team a great boost before heading for Monte Carlo."
"A really exciting grand prix and, I think, quite entertaining for the spectators," added Haug. "We had an aggressive strategy for Lewis which almost paid off, as our aims were first place in both qualifying and the race.
"Lewis drove a great race with good speed. His overtaking manoeuvre when he passed Massa was surely enjoyed by lots of television spectators, as it does not happen too often in Formula 1 that the leading car is passed. We will all continue to work very hard, and are looking forward to the season's highlight in Monte Carlo in two weeks' time."
