F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hamilton: 'It's not a happy car at the moment'

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are left with more questions than answers a day after the Brit's under-performance in yesterday's Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton was on the back foot at the outset last week, struggling for grip around Principality's twisty streets.

While the two-time world champion missed Q1 through no fault of his own, having aborted  a fast lap because of a sudden yellow flag, his race performance on Sunday was still impacted by an underlining unknown issue.

"It’s not a happy car at the moment," admitted Hamilton.

"It’s the most unusual the car has felt in all the years I’ve been with the team.

"We’re no closer to understanding it but we definitely have to improve and see if we can do a better job.

"It’s a difficult one and there are so many things we need to look into to understand why one car will make it work and the other won’t."

Indeed, team mate Valtteri Bottas enjoyed a better performance over the weekend, better exploiting his tyres and ultimately crossing the chequered flag fourth on race day.

"It was definitely unexpected for the engineers," added Hamilton.

"They corrected things and it was worse so then we went back to this unknown scenario.

"It turned out to be OK on Valtteri’s car but not great on mine.

"We’ll regroup but we know we can’t be in this position again. One more race like this and we’ll be much further behind."

Hamilton heads to Montreal next for the Canadian Grand Prix, a venue which historically has always delivered a positive result to the Brit.

 "Montreal has been a great hunting ground for me in the past and I’d like that to continue," said the Mercedes driver.

"We’re going to work very, very hard over next two weeks to make sure we’re ahead of these Ferraris.

"They’ve had the strongest car all year, a little bit like our car was last year. But the more races we do, the more we learn and the stronger we get.

"We know the Ferraris are not bulletproof."

 

“Want to win a trackday experience? All you have to do is subscribe to our FREE newsletter HERE”

Gallery: All the pictures from Sunday in Monaco

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Marko: ‘No chance at all’ for Red Bull in Las Vegas

Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are unlikely to challenge for victory…

6 hours ago

GM revives bid to join F1 with accelerated talks for 2026 entry

Automotive giant General Motors is reportedly back in the game as a potential entrant in…

7 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

9 hours ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

10 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

11 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

12 hours ago