Lewis Hamilton feels his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team are closer to rivals Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari than he initially thought after Thursday practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The defending champion finished third and fourth in the two sessions but admitted the team have things to work on ahead of the weekend.
“It’s been an okay day, we didn’t suffer any damage which is a good thing.
“I said yesterday the Red Bulls were going to be quick which they were today.
“As expected, we struggled a little bit more.
“The car felt good in some places, in others it felt bad.
“So we have got some things to work on, but we’re not completely in the dark; we’re in a much better place than we were last year.
“We’re closer to Red Bull and Ferrari than I expected, but we’re still a few tenths off.”
The HyperSoft tyres made their debut at the Circuit de Monaco and Hamilton thinks they could make the race on Sunday a bit more interesting.
“So we’ve got some ground to cover and pick up if we want to be in the fight for the win.
“We’ve got to keep working on the set-up and try and see if we can pull out some more potential from the car.
“The HyperSoft felt good, but it doesn’t last very long.
“It looks good for qualifying but could be interesting in the race.”
