Hamilton applying “constructive pressure” on Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says he is keeping the pressure on his Mercedes team to maintain its developments after a tough start to the 2018 Formula 1 world championship having failed to win any of the opening three races of the year.

The reigning F1 world champion has seen his title defence hampered by inconsistent performances and poor strategy calls in the first three rounds, one which cost him victory at the season opener in Australia, and his frustrations at Mercedes have been broadcast over the team radio.

While Hamilton holds full faith in his team, the Mercedes driver has reiterated his demand for improvements from the areas he feels the German manufacturer needs to find the biggest gains from after seeing Ferrari and Red Bull fight back at the start of 2018.

“I certainly am pushing very hard. James Vowles and James [Allison], Niki [Lauda] and Toto [Wolff] are trying to encourage them so they know which kind of areas on the car that they are struggling with the most so they can really apply pressure on those departments.

“We’ve got to keep constructive pressure on the guys. They want to win just as much as all of us. It’s a work in progress.”

Speaking after the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton says he’s been closely working with Mercedes at its factory to give his feedback on where he feels the team needs to improve and is confident of a retaliation in Baku at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“I will be at the factory with the team again on Thursday,” he said after the race in Shanghai. “We are going to continue to analyse and improve. I think there was an improvement already this weekend and it will continue to improve.”

Hamilton sits second in the F1 world drivers’ championship after cutting Sebastian Vettel’s lead down to nine points at the Chinese Grand Prix.