McLaren upbeat on Monaco after Turkey

By Alan Baldwin

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Formula One title contenders McLaren left Turkey with their confidence up on Monday despite being beaten for the fourth race in a row by champions Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton finished second at Istanbul Park but the 23-year-old described Sunday's race as the best of his career after having to make an extra pitstop to ensure his tyres lasted safely.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa had won from pole in Turkey for the past two years so there was no surprise in the Brazilian completing his hat-trick.

If anything, Massa, despite being ahead of Hamilton on race wins and seven points behind Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen, is doing worse than last year when he won in Bahrain, Spain and Turkey.

The re-jigged calendar flatters him, with the circuits where he won last year lined up in a row in 2008, but this year Massa has won only in Bahrain and Turkey, losing to Raikkonen in Spain.

The next two races are Monaco, the glamour highlight of the season, and Canada. McLaren dominated both of them last year.

"The really positive thing that comes from here is that we could clearly have beaten Ferrari," McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh told reporters at Istanbul Park on Sunday.

"Lewis has come away from here having done a good, solid race in Spain, a strong race and an extraordinary sprinting race here in Turkey.