Monaco Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton says ending his victory drought is a “boost” for his mechanics, with the triple world champion admitting they “have been nervous all year”.
Mercedes decided to reshuffle Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg’s crews ahead of the 2016 season, swapping several members from one car to the other including the number one mechanics.
In the opening four races, the Briton experienced several reliability issues while Rosberg enjoyed trouble-free runs to victory. The situation led Hamilton’s supporters to air their frustration online and accuse Mercedes of favouritism.
“It’s not easy coming from one side of the garage to the world champion’s car,” Hamilton said. “I would imagine that is the same when you are given Fernando [Alonso] as a driver or Sebastian [Vettel], that’s just how it is.
“I need to turn up in the car and deliver and because of the issues that we’ve had they have probably felt like we’re not delivering but we have been delivering and I think [winning in Monaco] must be a great relief for them.
“Hopefully this will be a boost at least for my mechanics who have been nervous all year. I’m grateful to them for sticking through it and sticking with me and I think from now on, hopefully this will give them the confidence to know that I’m just as strong as I have always been and I will be for the rest of the year.”
Hamilton actually suffered another engine glitch at the start of qualifying in Monte Carlo, which left him cutting a downcast figure until he could smile again by returning to winning ways on the following day.
“There are still issues and mistakes are being made, so we really need to pull together as a team because where we are right now, we’ve got more pressure than we’ve ever had before because of the other teams applying that pressure.
“You are starting to see small buckles here and there so I think what is really important is that we pull together because we are the greatest team, we just need to refine a few areas.”
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