'No regrets' about being told not to challenge for victory in the Principality in '07, British star insists.
Lewis Hamilton has belatedly admitted that McLaren-Mercedes were right to tell him not to attack Fernando Alonso in last year's Monaco Grand Prix - a situation that prompted an uncharacteristic post-race outburst from the Briton and an investigation by the FIA into whether the squad had broken the rules about illegal team orders.
After closely shadowing Alonso throughout the 78-lap encounter - but not being allowed to challenge the Spaniard for what would at the time have been Hamilton's maiden victory in only his fifth outing in the top flight - the Stevenage ace exclaimed that he recognised his status as McLaren's 'number two driver', adding about a week after the race that: "I just said what I felt. Sometimes your feelings need to be expressed."
Twelve months on, however, and bidding to claim his second triumph of the 2008 campaign around the narrow, tortuous streets of the Principality, the 23-year-old appears to have modified his stance somewhat.
"I think anyone would have been happy with that," he is quoted as having said by F1SA. "Looking back, I don't have any regrets, and the team did the right thing.
"You learn a lot when you are behind someone anyway, but I just had to look at it and say 'I'm here in Formula 1, and it is my first Monaco Grand Prix'."
Hamilton has already gone some way to ensuring that a similar scenario does not reproduce itself this year, by pacing the opening day's practice in Monte Carlo to the tune of almost four tenths of a second - in so doing dipping more than a tenth below the fastest race lap from 2007 set by Alonso - even if he did have a close call with someone crossing the pit-lane as he exited his garage.
"I simply love Monaco," he enthused afterwards, "and enjoy every single moment I get to spend on the track. The car felt great almost immediately, and I was able to show good pace from the very beginning.
"As the circuit evolved throughout both practice sessions we made some good progress with both the set-up and tyre evaluation. I spent the first session on the same set of tyres. There is a long way to go, but I enjoy this so much and we will work hard to continue making progress."
Heikki Kovalainen in the sister MP4-23 wound up slightly further adrift - lapping third-quickest in the morning session, just a fraction behind his team-mate, but slipping back to fifth in the afternoon after admitting to going the wrong way on a set-up alteration. The Finn insisted he was still feeling confident for the remainder of the meeting, however.
"A positive start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend," the 26-year-old mused, "and I am confident there is still more to come. Towards the end of the second session when I put on a new set of tyres we had made some set-up changes, which were not as positive as we thought they would be.
"In addition I wasn't pleased with my lap, so I am confident that we will continue to improve in Saturday's practice session. It's always great to drive around this track, and it's almost impossible to describe what it feels like. I can't wait for the rest of the Monaco Grand Prix."
The Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug were similarly optimistic at the close of proceedings, and hopeful of finally turning the tables on Ferrari around a circuit that heavily favoured the Silver Arrows in 2007.
"Two uneventful practice sessions," summarised Dennis, "which is always the best start to a Monaco Grand Prix weekend. We made good progress with both cars and evaluated the tyre options.
"There is still some work to do, but we are looking forward to the weekend and will continue to work hard to add another victory to our 14 Monaco race wins. However, it's not going to be easy as our competition is strong, and the weather might make things more unpredictable."
"A very good first practice day for us," agreed Haug, "and a good job from all our team members. Lewis obviously feels at home in-between the guardrails; he was fast and didn't put a foot wrong today. Heikki's lap times looked good and consistent too.
"In Saturday's qualifying we now want to build on the basis we achieved today. The weather forecast predicts rain for the race on Sunday, but on Saturday there is a chance for a dry qualifying."
