Hamilton: No real improvements from Mercedes upgrade

Lewis Hamilton admits that the new Mercedes components introduced for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix haven’t given the car a significant upgrade from the previous model.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, and Hamilton, said before the summer break that they expect Ferrari to be strong at Spa due to their pace on the straights. The Silver Arrows have attempted to bridge that gap, but Hamilton says even if there is a gain, it isn’t big.

“It’s pretty much the same as the second one,” said the Brit.

“So not really any real improvements.

“We’ve constantly been at the forefront of the technology on the engine side. There have been years when we’re just constantly ramping up, ramping up.

“But when you’re constantly the leader it’s not always easy to keep leading, you have rougher patches. I think it’s been a bit of a harder year in terms of development.”

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However, the championship leader is still taking solace from the car’s reliability, especially from when he received a new engine the last time.

“But we’ve still got great reliability,” he added.

“The last race I did on my first engine and my engine was fantastic throughout the race. So I think this next one it’s the smallest of steps. Not even half a tenth, probably.

“But I think it’s more reliability continues to improve. Efficiency, which is something we’re really focused on, I think efficiency is key.”

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