Hamilton: Monaco was a valuable 'reality check' for Mercedes

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Canadian Grand Prix race winner Lewis Hamilton has suggested that Mercedes' slump in Monaco was the "reality check" the team needed to put them back on track in Montreal.

Hamilton said that the team intensively analysed the previous race to learn from its mistakes. He revealed that part of the problem was relating wind tunnel simulations to what was actually happening in the real world.

"I think it was a reality check for us," Hamilton said of the troubled outing Mercedes had endured in Monaco. "It was quite easy to see where we went wrong, and that remained with us throughout the weekend.

"We learned a lot from Monaco, and we learned a lot this weekend. If we apply the same diligence that we did in the past two weeks after every single race, even after a win, we’re sure that we can continue to fight. Maybe make it not quite such a rollercoaster ride!"

Asked for details of Mercedes' methodology, Hamilton said: "I think it was just doing a lot of analysis. A lot of the engine and focussing on different areas to make sure the simulations are right. Because they weren't perfect.

"We had to understand why the wind tunnel was giving us one reading and the simulator would give us a different reading.

"I went to the factory on Thursday and they were still doing all of the analysis. All I could do was ask further questions and and give more feedback, and then really focus on [getting ready for Montreal].

Mercedes pushed 24/7 in run-up to Canada, reveals Wolff

"I was hoping that all that work would pay off and it did," he said, adding that unlike Monaco it meant the team had been able to hit the ground running in Canada. "We made no fault in the direction we went with the settings.

"It was really down to the team, great minds working together, communicating. Working in a big organisation like this, that doesn't always happen. It's easy to miscommunicate things. We're very open together in moving forward as a team."

After Montreal, Hamilton has successfully halved the points deficit to his Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel.

"I just think this was Mercedes at its best,” he said. “It was our first one-two of the year. In terms of optimal points it was the most powerful weekend we’ve had and we maximised it."

But Hamilton is also aware that the fortunes could easily change in the red team's favour. He compared the season to a good old-fashioned heavyweight slugfest featuring the likes of boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather.

"If Ferrari do that to us, it’s a blow. It’s like a right hook. I hope this can continue throughout the year. I just hope at the end we are like Mayweather!"

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Gallery: All the pictures from Montreal

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.