Hamilton fears Mercedes will third-best at 2018 F1 Monaco GP
Lewis Hamilton fears Mercedes may only have the third-best Formula 1 car at Monaco this weekend, as he expects strong showings from rivals Ferrari and Red Bull
Hamilton endured a disappointing Monaco weekend in 2017, qualifying 14th and having to settle for seventh place in race.
It was the only grand prix in 2017 where neither Mercedes driver finished on the podium, and in the lead-up to this year's event its team boss Toto Wolff admitted he was "bloody worried" about a repeat.
Speaking in the Wednesday pre-event press conference, Hamilton admitted it was a distinct possibility that Mercedes again would not be a match for its main rivals on pure pace in Monaco.
"I do anticipate it will be a difficult weekend," he said.
"Not one that it is impossible, but it is a lot closer and we may not have the pace of the others.
"We will find out the true pace and identity of what we arrive here with tomorrow.
"I am excited for that challenge either way - if you look at last year, there were undercuts and overcuts [in the race], so anything is still possible."
But Hamilton stressed that Mercedes had "definitely learned a lot" from the disappointment of its Monaco showing in 2017.
"We are confident with our preparation," he said. "It has definitely been better than before."
Mercedes was actually the second-quickest car over one lap in Monaco last year - as Valtteri Bottas came up just half a tenth short of pole, qualifying behind the Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and eventual race winner Sebastian Vettel but ahead of the Red Bulls.
"If you look at the last race [Spanish GP] and testing in February, and even in the test the other day, the Red Bulls were particularly quick in the last sector," he said.
"That is where they are always very strong so you can imagine they will be incredibly quick here this weekend.
"Ferrari were very, very strong here last year but for whatever reason Red Bull didn't get it together - but maybe this weekend they will."
Force India making 'too many compromises' to get F1 car improved
Ferrari F1 team to try old suspension again in Monaco GP practice
Sauber keen to "give the best to Alfa Romeo" amid Audi F1 links
Frederic Vasseur says that Sauber is focusing to “give the best to Alfa Romeo” through its Formula 1 partnership amid links to a possible takeover by Audi in the future.
Former F1 race director Masi to get Supercars Commission role
Former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is set to become the new Chairman of the Supercars Commission in Australia.
Verstappen: No quick solution to extremely heavy F1 cars
Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen thinks there is no quick solution to tackle the burgeoning weight of Formula 1 cars, which has proven an unpopular aspect of the 2022 rules revolution.
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here's the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
The inconvenient truth about F1’s ‘American driver’ dream
OPINION: The Formula 1 grid's wait for a new American driver looks set to continue into 2023 as the few remaining places up for grabs - most notably at McLaren - look set to go elsewhere. This is despite the Woking outfit giving tests to IndyCar aces recently, showing that the Stateside single-seater series still has some way to go to being seen as a viable feeder option for F1
How a bad car creates the ultimate engineering challenge
While creating a car that is woefully off the pace is a nightmare scenario for any team, it inadvertently generates the test any engineering department would relish: to turn it into a winner. As Mercedes takes on that challenge in Formula 1 this season, McLaren’s former head of vehicle engineering reveals how the team pulled of the feat in 2009 with Lewis Hamilton
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?