16/04/2018
NEWS STORY
World champion Lewis Hamilton reflects on a weekend that definitely went from bad to worse.
"I think the overall feeling is definitely disappointment because we are here to win and we didn't, even though we were leading quite a big part of the race," says Lewis Hamilton following a weekend which saw his team lose out in three successive races since the introduction of the new hybrid formula in 2014.
"Especially how everything went in the beginning," he continues. "Then, at the pit stop, the team did a perfect job and I also felt that I maximised the in-lap. The stop was the quickest we have had for a long time and also the out lap was really good. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory... but not today.
"We lacked pace from Saturday onwards," he admits. "Everything was good on Friday and then the car kind of turned upside down. It was unstable and didn't turn into the corners. There was a lot of performance that we were losing.
"I definitely feel like I was on the top of my game this weekend. I came prepared exactly the same as always. I just struggled with the car and was uncomfortable on Saturday and Sunday. We have to try and figure it out.
"My goals are obviously still the same," he insists, "but it is clear from this weekend that we are not the quickest. We've lost performance since Melbourne and maybe more so even this weekend.
"We have some improving to do but it is not impossible. What this team has shown over the years is that we are great at staying united, continuing to battle along and keep working. Everyone here and back at the factory is just going to keep pushing hard as possible.
"I'm also pushing very hard trying to encourage them, so they know which kind of areas with the car we are struggling most and can really look into it. I'm going to keep the constructive pressure on the guys. But they already have pressure because they want to win as much as us."