“I think we should be better here” - Lewis Hamilton hopeful of Mercedes finding their ‘sweet spot’ ahead of the 2024 F1 Monaco GP

Lewis Hamilton is hopeful to find the right car balance with the Mercedes W15 in Monaco, to play to their strengths in the slow corners. Speaking to the media including Sportskeeda ahead of the Monaco GP, the British champion feels that there is an opportunity to perform better at the iconic street circuit.

After his interaction with the press, Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice and was second in the second practice session. Ahead of qualifying the Brit was third in the third practice session. However, he believes it's a matter of setting up the car in a way that he can put it in a sweet spot. The Mercedes W15 tends to be good in the slow speed sections but the racer feels that that was the case in Jeddah but not in Suzuka.

After the two sessions on Friday, Lewis Hamilton reckoned that there was improvement needed in terms of balance but grip level was better. He also felt that they needed an improvement in their long run pace which was a matter of work on the car overnight between Friday and Saturday.

The driver was asked, "The car tends to be better in the slow speed corners, are you coming in here with that encouragement?"

“Its nice that you create the case I would say, but in Suzuka we were very slow in low speed corners, Jeddah we were fast in the slow speeds and slow in the high speeds. We have no doubt there will be talk in the paddock tomorrow. I think we should be better here.

I think the car, the window is stuck in terms of performance between high and low (speed corners). I really hope we’ll get into a bit of a sweet spot to be even closer. We weren’t that far off in qualifying last year, actually with a much worse car. So that would say something.”

After two practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton reviewed Mercedes performance saying:

“It's been a good day, definitely the best day we've had on track, and the car was feeling really positive, I really enjoyed driving it and the track is amazing. We still have some challenges with the balance, but it was looking strong.

What was a surprise was the grip level and how the car was reacting here, it was definitely a more enjoyable ride than we've had in the previous two years particularly. We can't lose the [low-fuel pace], so we just need to improve in the long run pace and with the graining.”

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Lewis Hamilton believes that Monaco GP format needs a tweak

Lewis Hamilton feels that the street circuit cannot be changed but the format could use some tweaks. He felt adding more pitstops could mix up the game. The 38-year-old believes that the roads of the principality can't get any bigger but that F1 cars have become bigger and wider. The combination of the small roads and wide cars has often left little to no room for overtaking since the 2022 aero regulations.

Suggesting tweaks to the Monaco GP weekend, Lewis Hamilton said:

“Monaco hasn’t really changed much, the cars are getting bigger and there is a huge risk of colliding. I wish we had bigger roads and that the track could be wider, but I don’t think that that is ever going to be the case because it is just a small place. The race is continuously pretty much the same, it is a one-stop race, so I would say that maybe having special tyres for this race so you have more pit stops, (which) can create more variability.

They [F1] can definitely come up with something specific for this particular weekend, they should come up with some new formula for it rather than it just being the same.”

Lewis Hamilton feels that the sport needs to come up with a new system specifically for the Monaco race to improve the entertainment. With clearer weather on Sunday, the race will ideally be a one stop race where most teams would use the undercut and overcoat combinations to prop their drivers up the grid.

The only probability that mixes up the racing format at times is safety car incidents or red flags. Given Mercedes' performance in the the sessions, the Brit is set for a reasonable qualifying which is the decider of around 70 percent of the outcomes in races on average.