Lewis Hamilton is confident heading into the Spanish Grand Prix. Picture: AFP
Lewis Hamilton said he was “really happy” with the Mercedes upgrades package that improved his car and helped him finish fourth ahead of team-mate George Russell in Sunday’s Monaco F1 Grand Prix.
“I’m really happy – we’ve moved forwards,” said the seven-time world champion.
“Coming into this weekend, I didn’t know where we would stand so to take fourth and fifth is good points for the team – a huge thank you to everyone at the factory for the upgrades on our car.”
Referring to the conditions in a challenging race in changing conditions, the Mercedes F1 driver added: “We kept it in one piece, we brought it home. We beat the Ferraris and we really got some great points as a team.
“And now we go to Barcelona which is the best circuit for us. It was difficult to know here – the car felt stiff, there are a lot of bumps and it’s tricky, but I noticed one particular part of the car that was better, but I don’t know how that will be next week.
“I’m pretty sure it will be a much better package.”
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Explaining his radio comments about the dangerous conditions during the race, he said the car felt very twitchy.
“The tyres weren’t working so it was like racing on ice. Then after a time, the tyres started to work and it as fine, but I was so close to going off and crashing, having a big shunt. It was crazy.”
Hamilton and Russell are fourth and fifth in the F1 drivers’ championship behind the Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen, who won Sunday’s race, and Sergio Perez, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who was second in Monaco.
Two-time F1 champion became the oldest driver to claim a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix in more than 50 years. The 41-year-old Spaniard hoped to challenge for a rare victory for Aston Martin, but was thwarted by the defending double world champion Verstappen’s pace and his own tyre-choice error when heavy rain arrived.
He recovered to finish a convincing second – his fifth podium finish in six races – and become the oldest top-three finisher since Australian Jack Brabham, who was 44 when he finished second in 1970.
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