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ISTANBUL, Turkey - Lewis Hamilton was cautious about his hopes of repeating his recent victory for McLaren over defending World champion Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Turkish F1 Grand Prix.
The 2008 champion said he was not building up any hopes after his victory in the Chinese GP when the young German was beaten and finished second, the first time he and Red Bull had been overhauled this season.
Hamilton said: "You can come from the last race and be excited and confident going to the next race, but I don't have particularly high hopes.
"In general, I don't like to expect too much so if it doesn't work out it is a big comedown. I prefer to arrive here cautious - we may not be the quickest this weekend, which is definitely possible, but if we are that will be fantastic and we will do best to win.
"In the last race we didn't win because we had the fastest car, but because we outdrove and had the best strategy. I hope we will close the gap, that our upgrade is good enough - we will see tomorrow."
Hamilton added that he expected several teams to challenge for victories as the season unfolded.
"The other guys seem to be closing the gap gradually. Mercedes is closer, Ferrari is there or thereabouts," he said. "It doesn't seem like it will take much for them to make a quick switch and be up there with us. The Renaults are doing fantastic. I think it will be close at some point, so I hope we can continue to move forward."
Hamilton won in Shanghai to halt Vettel's runaway start to the season, but also he won last year's Turkish Grand Prix in a McLaren 1-2.
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend
The 2008 champion said he was not building up any hopes after his victory in the Chinese GP when the young German was beaten and finished second, the first time he and Red Bull had been overhauled this season.
Hamilton said: "You can come from the last race and be excited and confident going to the next race, but I don't have particularly high hopes.
"In general, I don't like to expect too much so if it doesn't work out it is a big comedown. I prefer to arrive here cautious - we may not be the quickest this weekend, which is definitely possible, but if we are that will be fantastic and we will do best to win.
"In the last race we didn't win because we had the fastest car, but because we outdrove and had the best strategy. I hope we will close the gap, that our upgrade is good enough - we will see tomorrow."
Hamilton added that he expected several teams to challenge for victories as the season unfolded.
"The other guys seem to be closing the gap gradually. Mercedes is closer, Ferrari is there or thereabouts," he said. "It doesn't seem like it will take much for them to make a quick switch and be up there with us. The Renaults are doing fantastic. I think it will be close at some point, so I hope we can continue to move forward."
Hamilton won in Shanghai to halt Vettel's runaway start to the season, but also he won last year's Turkish Grand Prix in a McLaren 1-2.
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend