Hamilton 'confidence' boosted by Mercedes updates

Lewis Hamilton says his "confidence" and ability to commit to a corner with Mercedes' car were reinstated by the package introduced by the team last weekend in Monaco.

Mercedes rolled out its W14 in the Principality with a new front suspension and a modified sidepod design, with smaller elements also undergoing modifications.

Mercedes has stated that the purpose of its change of concept is to establish a more stable baseline package from which to develop its car moving forward.

More changes are in store however as the Brackley squad seeks to boost its performance by a full second.

But in Monaco, Mercedes remained well below that ambitious target.

“The true step forward we were hoping for was to [overturn] a one-second delta [to Red Bull] in race trim, and we have not covered that with this step," Hamilton told the media in Barcelona on Thursday.

“When you bring upgrades, naturally you should be progressing forwards, and the fact is that it is an improvement, but it just not the improvement we had dreamed of.

“It is one step at a time. I don’t feel negative towards it, I am grateful we have it, and I understand how much work has gone into making these parts, the rush that has gone on, and the amount of flat-out work by the team.

“We are hugely hungry to move in the right direction so I would say that I am just hopeful that it puts us on a better track.

“We have taken account of where we are, where we have gone wrong, and now we are slowly chipping away and navigating our way back to the front but unfortunately it is just a long process.”

• Read also: Mercedes pushing on with 'many more updates' for W14

While Mercedes has work to do to boost its W14's overall performance, Hamilton at least noted an improvement in terms of his car's behaviour and the feeling it instilled.

"What I felt last weekend was, I felt more confident in the car, more ability to be able to commit to the corner, so I'm hoping that at this track that it's the same.

"But hopefully better because there is a lot of medium to high-speed corners. So I'm hoping the flow of the car is better and maybe we can follow closer."

This weekend, the Circuit de Catalunya will further validate Mercedes' new package and provide the team with more clarity on its changes.
However, in relative terms, Hamilton admits to being in the dark as to where Mercedes will perform against its rivals.

"I really don't know what to expect and others too have upgrades here this weekend, so we'll find out tomorrow about those upgrades," he said.

"Just from looking at the numbers of what this upgrade is, before they had their upgrades, maybe they'll put us right close with them.

"But we'll see now whether they take a big step or a small step forwards this weekend. I'm still hopeful that we can compete with them this weekend, but it's a big hope."

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