Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton says he is happy with the performance of the Mercedes upgrades that were used at the Monaco Grand Prix over the weekend.
The German manufacturer have been down on pace compared to Red Bull and Aston Martin and were in clear need of some performance gains.
The long-awaited upgrades were used in Monaco having been originally scheduled for the Romagna-Emilia Grand Prix that was cancelled due to flooding in the eponymous Italian region.
Hamilton finished Sunday’s race in fourth ahead of his teammate George Russell and behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. The next round of racing is at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next weekend.
“I’m really happy,” Hamilton said. “We’ve moved forwards.
“Coming into the weekend I didn’t know where we would stand so to come out fourth and fifth is really great points for the team.
“Huge thank you to everyone back at the factory for bringing those upgrades. We kept it in one piece, we beat the Ferraris and we really got some great points as a team.
“Next week Barcelona is the best test circuit for us so it was really difficult here to know.
“The car felt very stiff, there are lots of bumps – I felt one particular part of the car that was better but I don’t know how that will be next week.
“I’m sure it will be a much better package next week.”
#F1 – ???? We’re moving up in a chaotic second half of the #MonacoGP finishing in P4 and P5. ????@lewishamilton is also scoring an extra point for the fastest lap. ⏱????
That was good team effort! ????????#WeLivePerformance #MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/o2bnXInODB
— Mercedes-AMG Motorsport (@amgmotorsport) May 28, 2023
Hamilton sits fourth in the drivers’ championship, 19 points clear of Russell and 75 points behind leader and former title rival Max Verstappen while Mercedes have moved within a point of second-placed Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship but are 130 points behind leaders Red Bull Racing.
