RaceFans Round-up:

In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he prefers having to fight his way to victory instead of leading all the way from pole position.

In brief

Winning from pole “boring” – Hamilton

Hamilton ended a two-and-a-half year winning drought with victory at Silverstone earlier this year, then added another win at Spa. While 10 years ago he was habitually winning races from pole as Mercedes dominated the first seasons under the V6 turbo hybrid formula, he says those victories weren’t as satisfying.

“Oh, God, it’s so boring,” he told Performance People. “Honestly, starting from first, leading the race all the way through, it’s really boring compared to fighting from the back and having racing.

“Because it’s not racing. You could be on a test. You are fighting a time gap behind you. [But] you have to psych yourself into thinking that you’re fighting a car ahead or something like that. You have to be chasing something.

“But it’s different when you have a car or cars ahead of you and there’s a track that you can overtake like Austin or Silverstone, for example. Different lines you’re trying to discover, utilising the tyres, the wind, crosswinds, all these different things. And then you finally get someone in battle, that’s the best thing. That’s the most rewarding experience as a driver.”

Albon’s floor made legal in seconds

After Alexander Albon was disqualified from qualifying for last weekend’s race because part of his floor was too wide, Williams team principal James Vowles revealed the work needed to make it compliant took a matter of seconds. “It was rectified with nothing more than sandpaper really for a few seconds on one area on the floor,” he said in a video released by the team.

Goethe replaces Colapinto at MP

Red Bull junior Oliver Goethe will surrender his extremely slim chance of winning the Formula 3 championship this weekend to take over the Formula 2 seat at MP vacated by Williams-bound Franco Colapinto. Goethe lies seventh in the F3 standings, 35 points behind leader Leonardo Fornaroli with 39 available.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Date set for Ferrari WEC appeal

The FIA International Court of Appeal will hear Ferrari’s appeal over the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Spa on Tuesday. Ferrari took issue with the stewards’ decision to restore the time lost during a lengthy mid-race suspension due to barrier damage. Their original protest was thrown out on the grounds that stewards’ decisions cannot be challenged.

Carpenter gives seat up for Rasmussen

Ed Carpenter has relinquished his seat at his own team for the final three races in favour of Christian Rasmussen. Carpenter was due to drive the final three races of the season but admitted he has not been satisfied with his performances at the other oval races so far this year.

“This was a very difficult decision for me to make,” said Carpenter. “I want to make it clear that this is not a retirement announcement. However, the reality is, I have not performed to the level that I expect of myself for the team.

“Christian tested at Gateway prior to the race and he showed me that he deserves this expanded opportunity. He also had such a strong performance during the Month of May and has earned the chance to continue his development. I am excited to watch him finish the season out strong for the number 20 crew and the entire ECR team.”

Katherine Legge will also return to the series this weekend in her latest appearance for Dale Coyne in their number 51 car.

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free