Hamilton identifies 'clear areas' Mercedes can improve to fight with rivals
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton secured his first Formula 1 podium since Mexico City in 2023 at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona Cataluyna. The seven-time world champion was elated with his result. His Mercedes W15, a difficult beast to tame this season, has finally joined the fight with McLaren and Ferrari. In Barcelona, The Silver Arrows were able to outperform Ferrari on pure pace, a rarity for the German team this season. In the post-race press conference, Hamilton was asked about Mercedes's newly found speed, and whether or not victories may be on the cards for the rest of the year.
"It would be nice. But I think considering where we've come from, I think just having consistency and seeing if we can put the team further up in the points, I think it's got to be the target. I think right now, let's just try and have more consistent weekends like this and then we'll see. We aren't yet currently in a position to be able to fight them for wins," said Hamilton. The 103-time Grand Prix winner hasn't secured a victory since the infamous Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in late 2021.
Canadian Grand Prix 'should've' been won by Mercedes
Although Hamilton remains realistic, he believes the team missed a golden opportunity to stand on the top step of the podium in Montreal. "You would say that maybe Montréal, George probably should have won that one, but if I'd qualified where I feel I should have, there was potential also there too. So we'll see in the next few races," explained the Mercedes driver.
'Clear areas' where Mercedes can improve, says Hamilton
Looking ahead to the rest of the triple header, Hamilton knows exactly what Mercedes needs to do in order to extract more from its 2024 challenger. "I think we've got these high-speed circuits. The McLaren's always been quick and the Red Bull has been quick in Austria, in Silverstone they'll also be very fast there but I'm hoping that we can eek a little bit closer to them and give them a bit more um trouble in the next four or five races. Then we’ve just got to keep bringing upgrades. We've got to keep improving the car. There's a clear improvement and there are just clear areas where we need to bolt on performance so that we can be in the fight with them," concluded the Brit.