Lewis Hamilton opens up about latest Mercedes upgrades, calls it 'very very little'

At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2024, Mercedes brought their second segment of Miami upgrades and their car performed up to expectations. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton performed amazingly in free practice sessions while they saw a slump in Qualification and the Grand Prix. At Imola, Hamilton finished sixth before giving his verdict on the upgrade. 

Mercedes persists in its bid to return to the forefront of the field after competing lower down the order in recent seasons. Despite this, Hamilton admits that the team's latest upgrades have made little difference to its performance. While speaking with media at Imola he said, “Not a big difference. They are small steps but very, very small.” 

“My pace in the second stint was comparable to the guys towards the front. But we're still I think we're still lacking two or three-tenths.” Further speaking about his Gravel run at Turn 12 Hamilton said, “I think [I lost] about probably about five seconds with that off.”

“Then that meant that I came out behind Fernando and I lost another bunch of seconds there so I think probably all in all probably eight seconds. So not ideal, but it didn't lose any positions.”

Max Verstappen clinched a massive win at Imola

Max Verstappen secures dominant victory at Imola, holding pole position throughout the race. Lando Norris challenges closely but finishes second by just 0.7 seconds. Charles Leclerc takes third, marking Ferrari's return to the podium. 

Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz follow in fourth and fifth. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell settle for sixth and seventh. Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, and Yuki Tsunoda round up the top 10, with Tsunoda impressive with skilful performances.