Hamilton: F1 title fight tightest ever

(GETTY IMAGES)

After becoming the sixth man to lead the 2010 world championship in eight races, the Turkish and Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton says that he expects the see-saw fortunes of the front-runners to continue.

Fernando Alonso led after the season opener in Bahrain, but was supplanted in turn by Felipe Massa, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

"You can see how tight this championship is," Hamilton said yesterday. "I don't know whether it's the new points-scoring system, but the field is so close and all the best drivers are in the top teams and they're all very, very competitive. So it's the ultimate challenge I've experienced in Formula One, perhaps in Formula One history. I'm sure there will be lots of ups and downs – hopefully, not for us – during the rest of the season but let's hope we're able to keep on the front line."

Hamilton's team-mate Button, who followed him home by only seconds in both Turkey and Montreal, said he hoped McLaren's newfound form could continue when the action switched next to the street circuit in Valencia in a fortnight.

"The asphalt is more abrasive than it is here [in Montreal]," Button said, "it's going to work the tyres very differently. There are also some high-speed corners in Valencia and there aren't here. People are bringing new things to the circuit every race we go to."