The Mercedes is harder to "work with" this year according to Hamilton

Hamilton, on a quest to win his third consecutive world championship, believes a lot more work is required if the German team are going to lift the trophy again.

"So far the car’s a little bit harder to work with this year - definitely not easier," Hamilton said in a conversation with Crash.

The British driver tops the world championship following podiums in Australia, Bahrain and China. He can't pinpoint exactly what needs improvement but hints at issues with tyres.

"It’s a combination of things. Every year you’ve got tyre issues, which seems a little bit more complex than last year, but in the beginning of every season we always struggle," Hamilton added.

“Everyone is trying to understand the different tyre windows - the windows of these tyres are even more narrow than it has been in the past, which was pretty small before and it’s even smaller now."

Both Ferrari and Red Bull will bring significant upgrades to the race track in Baku. Unfortunately for Hamilton, his Mercedes team are sticking with their original package.

“I don’t believe we have any upgrades this weekend - we do have stuff coming in the pipeline but this wasn’t a planned race for us,” Hamilton said.