Hamilton Reflects On What Happened With Mercedes After Summer Break

Monday, 07 October 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton issued an update on what had happened with the performance of his car since the summer break.

Mercedes drivers scored podium finishes in all six Grand Prix weekends preceding the summer break and won four of them. However, their results have not been the same since the first race after the summer break in the Netherlands.

Silver Arrows could not match the pace of McLaren, Ferrari, and even Red Bull on multiple occasions and scored only one podium in the last four race weekends (which was also only after gaining two positions due to a collision between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz).

The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourth race after the summer break and the last race before the Autumn break. Speaking to the media after the race on Sunday at Marina Bay Street Circuit, Lewis Hamilton was asked what happened with Mercedes, and he said:

"I don't think it has changed. I think the others have gained. We brought an upgrade to Spa, but then we didn't end up using it."

"And then I think the others have from Zandvoort to Monza have brought more upgrades, particularly like Ferrari. I think McLaren have as well. So, we await ours in a couple of races."

The German team is planning to bring a significant upgrade for the first race weekend after the Autumn break in Austin. However, they won't be the only ones.

All F1 teams have a three-week break from races to focus purely on development, so we can probably expect to see upgrades on every car at the 2024 United States Grand Prix. Hamilton added:

"I think McLaren seem to be the ones that are evolving and advancing the fastest if you look at their impressive [rear] wing. We just have to kind of wait and see and do the best with what we have."