Hamilton: ‘Fighting for a World Championship is always the expectation'

On Thursday, Hamilton was clear about what he wants to achieve the sooner the better, another world championship victory. "To be fighting for a World Championship. That's always the expectation," Hamilton began.

"No, honestly it was just to be in a much better position than we were last year and I think that wasn't the case. With all the amazing work that goes on through winter, we started further behind. It's been a big, steep uphill climb but we're really proud of the team. We're fighting for second in the championship, in the construction championships, which is definitely something we didn't expect after what we felt in the first test and that's really down to the great teamwork that's happening in the background," he continued.

This year, Red Bull’s gap still seems quite big, but Hamilton wants to get the maximum out of this season as well. "My full focus is on to try and secure a second for the team. I think everyone back at the factory, it means a huge amount for them and whilst we can't currently catch the Red Bulls, I think that puts us in a good position for next year."

Can Mercedes win a race this season?

Hamilton was cautious about whether Mercedes would be able to win a race in 2023. "At the moment, I'm not quite sure we can currently compete with them race pace. I think there times in the last race, Max was around 8 tenths faster than everyone on a single lap. But never say never."

He also underlined that his car needs to have better balance. "As a driver you're constantly battling the inconsistencies with balance but we are flat out trying to improve. Just as Kevin [Magnussen] says, we're working a lot to analyse where we are and what we can do to try and make those big steps that some of the others potentially have like McLaren and Red Bull."