Lewis Hamilton is hoping that Red Bull and Ferrari will provide his dominant Mercedes car with more competition at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The 2008 world champion can become only the second driver on the current grid after Sebastian Vettel to win five or more consecutive grands prix if he succeeds in the Principality on Sunday.
However, while Hamilton is enjoying his strong start to the 2014 campaign in the new turbo engines, he is adamant that he prefers having to fight hard for his victories.
Team-mate Nico Rosberg won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and has subsequently finished runner-up to Hamilton in the following four races to ensure a constant in-team scrap for glory. But the 29-year-old Briton wants to see opposing teams start stepping up to the plate.
Hamilton, who insisted comparisons cannot be made between him and last season’s runaway champion Vettel because of the pressure coming from Rosberg, said: “It’s not the easiest thing to comment on because when you have it [a dominant car] you don’t want to wish it away, but at the same time you do want a race.
“The good thing is that unlike Sebastian, who was leading by 30-40 seconds each race, it’s not the case here, I’m racing my team-mate. So I actually do have competition and I’m grateful for that.
“But of course I’m hoping this weekend to have a closer race with Red Bull – I was saying upstairs [in the Mercedes motorhome], it would be cool if it was scattered with Ferraris in the mix, Red Bulls in the mix.”
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