Despite encouragement, Lewis Hamilton is not convinced by Mercedes’ improvements
Lewis Hamilton says the improvements made by Mercedes had little impact on their overall performance at this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. However, the Mercedes driver encouraged his team to continue improving at the end of the race.
Mercedes has introduced a new series of updates on the W15 at Imola, following the first part of an evolution package unveiled in Miami two weeks earlier.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in Sunday’s Grand Prix, one place ahead of his teammate George Russell, who made two pit stops. Hamilton’s Mercedes finished about 35 seconds behind leader Max Verstappen, who claimed his fifth victory in seven races.
The seven-time world champion downplayed the impact of the developments after the race, saying that they did not make a big difference.
« These are small steps, but very, very small. My pace in the second relay was comparable to the guys ahead. But I think we are still missing two or three tenths », explains the British.
Despite this seemingly minor advancement, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff declared that he felt more confident, that his team is on the right path of development after two frustrating seasons.
« I think what we see on the car now is that these progressive gains we are making, rather than a miracle upgrade, put the car in a better balance window and simply make the car more efficient », he explained. « But these are the things where you gain a tenth or a half a tenth, but at the same time, the other teams are improving. »
Lewis Hamilton made a notable mistake during the race by going off track at Acque Minerali and crossing the gravel. « I think that I probably lost about five seconds with this off-track excursion. Then, that meant I was coming out behind Fernando and I lost a few more seconds there, so I think in total, probably eight seconds. So, not ideal, but it didn’t make me lose any positions. »
At the end of the Grand Prix on the radio, the English driver encouraged his team: the car was good this weekend, there is progress but still work to do. Keep pushing.
