Mercedes duo offer assessments on season so far as Hamilton signals ‘excitement’ for developments

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have each given their take on how the season has so far played out for Mercedes, with both drivers praising the team for staying motivated during challenging times.

Having faced two difficult years in 2022 and 2023, the Silver Arrows have yet to find a return to their winning ways in 2024. The squad currently sit P4 in the constructors’ standings on 64 points, 60 away from McLaren in third, while their best race result to date has been Russell’s fifth place in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

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Arriving into the seventh round of campaign in Imola, Hamilton acknowledged that the year had not gone the way he had hoped so far but voiced his optimism about the team’s upcoming developments.

“From my side, it’s not been great, [not] good at all,” the seven-time world champion commented. “But the last race was a positive, and there’s a long, long way to go. I’m just really excited for the developments that are coming.

“We’ve had a step in the last race and we’ve got a step this weekend, and there’s more in the pipeline. I feel like we’ve kind of found more of a North Star of what we need to do and change, it just takes time.

“But the energy in the team is amazing – they’re so resilient in this team. They just continue to push, even though we’ve been kind of knocked down quite a few times. So we’re just going to continue to keep our heads down, stay focused and try and do the best job we can each weekend.”

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Russell backed Hamilton’s take on how motivated the outfit remain as they look to work their way back to the front of the pack.

“As Lewis said, it’s been pretty impressive to see how the team have all come together, putting in so many hours back at the factory to try and bring these developments onto the car quicker, working so hard to try and make the car faster,” the Briton added.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the season, [and] I think it’s very clear the direction [that] we need to head, and that gives people motivation and a clear platform where we need to develop upon.

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“Time will tell in the coming races, but definitely the morale or the motivation has not dipped whatsoever, and everybody’s so motivated to get Mercedes back to the top.”