Lewis Hamilton admits he needs to improve his single lap pace if he is to challenge Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for pole position on Saturday. The two finished first and second in Thursday practice with Rosberg three tenths ahead of the Briton and despite the deficit, Hamilton is delighted with his position relative to the team’s competitors.
“It’s been a positive start for us today and I’m pleased with what we have achieved here in Monaco. We did some good long run work this afternoon and the supersoft tyres seem to be performing well. I need to improve my one lap pace however, partly with the balance of the car and partly from me. The car is almost there and the pace looks good so we’ll look at the data tonight and work on those areas which can still be improved before the weekend.”
Rosberg is also encouraged by the W04’s pace over one lap but he acknowledges that their long run performance is still surrounded by question marks.
“A very productive day for us. We completed a lot of laps and I feel comfortable in the car. It seems that we are quick again on one lap but we have been working hard again to make improvements to our race pace. It will be interesting to see where we are compared to the others over the weekend as it’s not really representative today. It feels great to be back here driving around the streets of my home city here again and I’m very much looking forward to the weekend.”