Lewis Hamilton fearing the worst in Canada after Red Bull and Ferrari engine upgrades
Hamilton, who holds a 14-point title lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the title race, believes he will be on the back foot at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
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Your support makes all the difference.Championship leader Lewis Hamilton fears he will not be able to fight for victory in Canada.
Hamilton's Mercedes team were due to bring an engine upgrade with them to the seventh round of the campaign but it will not be ready until the next race in France later this month.
Ferrari and Renault, which powers the Red Bull team, are due to unleash updated engines at the high-power Montreal track this weekend.
Hamilton, who holds a 14-point title lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, believes he will be on the back foot at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
"If the other teams have got fresh engines, given how close we are, we won't be in a position to fight for the win," Hamilton said. "This is a power circuit so it was our target to use the new engine, which definitely would have been helpful.
"It is unfortunate but we will have to make do without it, and that means our performance will not be the greatest. It could be a difficult weekend."
Hamilton will be tackling the Canadian race with the same engine he used at the opening round in Australia.
He added: "The engine will have lost performance and at a power circuit that will be magnified. All I am hoping for is reliability. Naturally, I am here to win, but I just want to see the race through and that is my only concern.
"Our goal is to finish every single race so I'm hoping for reliability. I will try and make the difference on the track with my driving."
Hamilton is a master of the Montreal circuit, and will equal Michael Schumacher's haul of seven Canadian Grand Prix victories should he win this weekend.
The 33-year-old Englishman tasted his first grand prix victory in Canada, and he has also triumphed here for the past three years.
"There are certain circuits which suit you more than other places, and this has always been one of those particular circuits for me," Hamilton added.
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