Lewis Hamilton Optimistic About Mercedes’ Progress, but Concedes More Work Ahead

Strong Qualifying, but Continued Challenges

Lewis Hamilton secured a promising third spot on the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix, but lamented that he “still lost performance” in qualifying compared to practice. Despite his strong showing, Hamilton admitted that his Mercedes W15 continued to be difficult to handle on the edge.

Hamilton’s qualifying performance marked a continuation of Mercedes’ recent upturn in form, with him and teammate George Russell locking out the second row of the grid. However, the seven-time Formula 1 champion expressed that there was still more to come from the car, citing a three-tenth gap to Lando Norris and Max Verstappen as the margin Mercedes needs to make up to be competing at the sharp end.

“I think it’s been okay. It’s good to be back up here. It’s great to see that we’re progressing. We’ve seen in the last couple of races that we’re slowly climbing closer to the guys up front.”

He added, “I think there’s a little bit more performance in the car today, but it’s really on the knife edge. We’ve got some improvements to make to the car, but as I said, I’m really happy to be here.”

Tyre Issues and the Need for Further Improvements

Hamilton’s P3 start puts him in a strong position for the long run down to Turn 1, but he is more concerned about the Ferrari drivers in his mirrors, warning that they looked strong in terms of long pace after introducing an upgrade this weekend.

Hamilton pipped Russell by just 0.002 seconds, but felt that he was unable to extract the maximum from his car in qualifying. “I still feel like I’ve lost performance going into it,” he contended. “I’ve still lost a little bit going into quali… when you start to push the car, it doesn’t like it.”

He attributed this to tyre issues, stating that when you “lean on it to try and get that extra bit of a lap out, we really struggle.” Hamilton is hopeful that upcoming updates will bring Mercedes closer to the front-runners, saying, “As I said, we’ve got some improvements that we need to bring over the next few races in order for us to be properly in range of those guys.”

Formula 1 Qualifying Standings: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 3rd

Formula 1 Today: Lewis Hamilton expressed optimism about Mercedes’ recent progress, but conceded that there’s still work to be done to compete at the sharp end.

Formula 1 Tyres: Hamilton attributed his struggles to tyre issues, citing problems with his car’s blankets in P1 and difficulties in pushing the limits of the W15.

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