Hamilton ‘counting down’ to Merc upgrades: “Start of something new for us”
Mercedes have endured another disappointing start to the season and have not looked in contention for wins, having lagged well behind early pace-setters Red Bull.
The eight-time constructors’ champions have been working on upgrades for their W14 behind the scenes, with a major update package set to be introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the end of May.
With just one more race to get through - next weekend’s Miami Grand Prix - before his Mercedes gets an upgrade, Hamilton said he is hopeful the new parts will boost his team’s prospects.
“We knew already fairly early on that we would have quite a few races until this upgrade, so I’ve been counting the days down, counting the weeks down,” Hamilton said.
“We don’t currently quite know how good the upgrade will be. But we know it will be the start of something new for us.
“Miami I hope is better pace-wise. Last year we were bouncing a lot, so I think we are in a much better place with our car.
“So hopefully we’ll be a bit closer to the guys there. Might not be as close to the Red Bulls, because they are rapid. Maybe we could fight the Astons, that would be amazing.”
The seven-time world champion finished sixth in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and felt Mercedes maximised their performance in Baku.
“I think we did [get the most out of the car],” Hamilton said. “There was great prep before coming here with a couple of days in the factory, plenty of sim running and I’m very proud of the team.
"The mentality of the team is great, there is such a winning mindset and everyone is focused on progressing and getting to where we know we can get to.
"I don’t think there are any mistakes or any failure, I think this is just the build of getting to where we need to be.
"Everyone is staying positive in the garage, everyone is just doing their jobs to the best of their ability and that is all we can ask for right now until we get those upgrades which will hopefully put us much more in the fight.”
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