Hamilton blown away by 'incredibly fast' Imola

Lewis Hamilton hailed Imola as an "incredible and fast" circuit, but the six-time world champion says overtaking opportunities will be at a premium on Sunday.

Hamilton kicked off his Emilia Romagna GP weekend by setting the pace in Saturday's single practice session, after which he gave the venue a big thumbs up.

"This track is incredible," commented Hamilton. "It’s unbelievable how fast it is around this track. I think for a single lap, it’s going to be incredible."

However, the 92-time Grand Prix winner believes that overtaking around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will prove difficult on race day.

"It’s definitely not going to be a great race circuit for us, being that it’s so fast for us," said Hamilton.

"It’s very narrow, it’s going to be very difficult for people to overtake. There will probably be overtaking on that mid-field after turn two.

"Maybe down the main straight you’ll see some overtaking. But on a single lap, it’s phenomenal to drive, it’s really incredibly fast."

• Read also: Hamilton: Lap of Imola 'harsh reminder' of Senna

Hamilton noted that Pirelli's middle-range tyres are performing exceptionally well at Imola compared to last weekend's round at Portimão.

"The way the tyres are working with the circuit, the grip level is very high," explained the Briton. "It’s mostly medium to high speed and it’s very fast and flowing.

"The speed we’re going through a lot of these corners, for some reason the tyres are hugging the road compared to the last track. And it’s just incredibly fast and flowing, it’s beautiful."

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