Lewis Hamilton prefers to be optimistic despite the lack of performance on Mercedes side, as he talks about rallying his troops.
With three races done, Hamilton sits fifth in the standings with 28 points whereby Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads with 71. The difference is of 43 but with 20 races to go, the Brit is optimistic about his chances still against Ferrari and Red Bull.
“I prefer to stay optimistic, I think,” Hamilton said to written media. “There are 20 races to go. If you think realistically, with the way how the sport goes in terms of everyone’s development, the top teams often develop at a similar pace and similar rate. Will that be the case with this new car? Who knows?
“I’m really, really hoping we can get in the fight soon. But with every bit of improvement we will probably make, [Ferrari] and Red Bull will probably make a similar sort of step, so it’s not going be easy. Yes the gap is pretty big right now. But there is a long way to go,” summed up Hamilton.
While the Brit is lagging behind by 43 points, Mercedes is second in the standings with 65 points whereas Ferrari sits on top with 104. Even though they are in a good position, pace and performance wise they are still behind and need upgrades to catch up.
Hamilton has been traveling to Malaysia and Brazil since Australia, but he is back in the UK and been on the simulator too to prepare for Imola. The Brit is also rallying the troops on Zoom calls to discuss ways to improve their performances.
“There’s a lot of work, and there’ll be a lot of calls, naturally,” said Hamilton. “I have lot of traveling to Malaysia [and Brazil]. I’m on a lot of Zoom calls with all the sponsors and our bosses, really trying to rally them up. We’ve got some improvements that we need to make.
“And we need everyone’s support in doing so, in just making sure we leave no stone unturned. It’s in making sure the hunger is really there and we’re maximizing absolutely every moment, so lot of Zooms. I’m chasing the people that are in the wind tunnel, the aero guys, and just looking at absolutely every single area.
“There’s performance to be gained in areas that we know. And we need it now. Not in two or three races. We all know as a team that we have just got to keep that encouragement and keep that energy high. I’ll be on the simulator preparing for Imola,” summed up Hamilton.
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