Hamilton: Baku result another 'build' to getting where we need to be

On paper, Lewis Hamilton could have been disappointed with a sixth-place finish in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but instead the Briton considered the result as another stepping stone to where the Mercedes team needs to be.

Hamilton spent his entire afternoon in Baku running among the top six. The seven-time world champion initially held on to his P5 qualifying position at the start, but then dwindled down the order following his switch from the medium to the hard tyre just before the Safety Car was deployed.

Nevertheless, he progressed back up the field after the restart to settle in sixth position where he would remain for the rest of the day.

Hamilton reckoned that he had made the most of Mercedes' package.

"I think we did," he told Sky F1. "I think there was great prep before coming here – a couple of days at the factory – plenty of sim running – and I’m really proud of the team.

"Big thank you to everyone back at the factory.

"The mentality of the team is great. There’s such a winning mindset and everyone’s so focused on progressing and getting to where we know we can get to, it’s just taking some steps.

"So, I don’t think there are any mistakes, any lessons, I don’t think this is failure. I think this is just the build to getting where we need to be.

“So, everyone’s staying positive in the garage, everyone’s just doing their job to the best of their ability and that’s all we can ask for right now until we get those upgrades, which will hopefully put us much more in the fight."

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If all goes according to plan, Mercedes will ship its first batch of upgrades in time for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola in three weeks' time.

In the interim, Hamilton expects the Brackley squad to be "in a much better place" in Miami next weekend than it was last year with its bouncing bronco 2022 car.

"I think we knew already from quite early on that we would have quite a few races until this upgrade," he commented. "So, it’s just counting the days down or counting the weeks down.

"We don’t currently quite know exactly how good the upgrade will be – we know it will be the start of something new for us.

"But Miami should be… I hope it’s better pace-wise. Last year we were bouncing there a lot. We’re in a much better place this year with our car, so I hope we’re a lot closer to the guys there.

"We might not be as close to the Red Bulls because they’re rapid, but maybe we can fight the Astons because that would be amazing."

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