On Sunday it is time again for what many see as the most iconic race on the calendar: the Monaco Grand Prix. For one weekend, all eyes are on the small country on the Mediterranean Sea and that brings high expectations from the fans and the teams. This also applies to the Mercedes team, which has not had a brilliant start to the 2024 season. During the press conference, seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton shares what his expectations are.
During the most recent race at the Emilia-Romagna circuit in Imola, the Briton crossed the finish line in sixth place. So far this season, Hamilton has not managed to get further than the sixth place he also achieved in Miami. In Imola the Mercedes team came up with some updates, but this will not be the case in Monaco. “We don’t quite know where we will be this weekend,” Hamilton said in front of the SkySports camera.
No updates in Monaco
The Mercedes team chose to introduce the package of upgrades it applied to the W15 in a staggered manner. The first few updates were applied in Miami, with the remainder over the weekend in Imola. ‘We have the most downward pressure (here in Monaco, ed.). Everyone here has that. And we have a further developed wing. But other than that, we don’t really know where we’ll be this weekend. In any case, I am more enthusiastic than I was about the previous two cars. Those two just weren’t that good. This one is really a work in progress. Hopefully (the car, ed.) is a lot better than it was here last year.’
Ultimately, the Mercedes’ performance will depend solely on how the car does on the track. “We depend on simulation tools,” says Hamilton. ‘You can practice on the simulator, but you only discover on the track what problems you may or may not have. In a perfect world you would get started right away and never look back. But that has not been the case in recent years (for us, ed.),” says Hamilton, laughing. ‘But like I said, I’m going into this weekend feeling more confident. This car is much more predictable and much more pleasant to drive. Not perfect yet, but he’s going in the right direction.’
