Lewis Hamilton expressed his hope for Mercedes’ performance going forward after noticing improvements with the W14 during the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton secured a fourth-place finish in Monte Carlo, starting the race from fifth on the grid and finishing just over two seconds behind Esteban Ocon in third place.
Mercedes benefited from a strategic decision by Ferrari to bring Carlos Sainz in for a tire change on Lap 33, giving Hamilton the opportunity to regain track position ahead of George Russell, who made a mistake at Mirabeau.
With Mercedes finishing in fourth and fifth positions, Hamilton spoke positively to the media after the race, indicating that the introduction of the W14 upgrades, including a new sidepod design, proved to be successful despite the unique challenges of the Monaco circuit.
“I’m really happy. We made progress, and coming into the weekend, I didn’t know where we would stand,” Hamilton said in an interview with Sky F1.
“So to come out fourth and fifth, it was a great result for the team. I want to give a huge thank you to everyone back at the factory for their hard work and for bringing those upgrades. It takes a lot of effort to bring them here, and we kept it together and brought it home. We beat the Ferraris and gained valuable points as a team.”
When asked if he felt a difference in the handling of the W14 with the upgrades, and whether he anticipates a stronger performance in the upcoming race in Barcelona, a more typical F1 track, Hamilton mentioned that the Circuit de Catalunya will provide further opportunities to fine-tune the new components.
“Barcelona is the best test circuit for us next week. It was challenging here to really gauge the differences,” he explained. However, Hamilton stated that he could clearly feel a difference compared to the old-spec car even in Monaco.
“The car feels very stiff, there are a lot of bumps—it’s tricky. I definitely noticed a particular part of the car that is better, but I don’t know how it will perform next week. I’m confident that the entire package will be much better overall.”
