Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes feels “closer to the front” at the Canadian Grand Prix after being encouraged by his car's performance during practice in Montreal on Friday.
Mercedes has failed to keep pace with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren through the opening eight rounds of the 2024 season, while Hamilton and team-mate George Russell are yet to reach the podium for the Silver Arrows.
But after two sessions on Friday, where bad weather made it difficult to assess the competition, Hamilton was encouraged by the feeling W15 had ahead of Saturday's final practice and qualifying.
“It’s still too early to tell,” the seven-time world champion said. “I feel driven, I feel like the car is responding to my inputs and I feel really confident.
“But we don't know until we get out there. Saturday is often a different day for us, but we're hoping tomorrow will be a good day. But we felt really strong today in the (wet or dry) conditions. So, we're closer to the front this weekend.” I think that.”
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Canadian Grand Prix Friday practice highlights.
Mercedes has been gradually rolling out upgrades after a very disappointing start to the campaign, but limited stock of updated parts has led to the decision not to run the new front wing in Friday's wet conditions amid concerns it could be damaged.
Teams and drivers have been unable to gather vital data in dry conditions, but the fact that more rain is forecast for the remainder of the weekend means Friday's run could provide useful information.
“It felt good.” Hamilton continued. “I wanted to go every second. I just told the guys, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go’ to maximize our time on the track, whatever the conditions were.
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton narrowly avoided one of Montreal's famous wear-and-tear finishes in P2 at the Canadian GP.
“This is a track that builds blocks. It’s about spending as much time as possible on the track and understanding both the conditions and the changes that have been made to the surface and some of the runoff areas.”
Hamilton finished second practice just over a second behind Fernando Alonso's lead time, but held off in traffic until the end of the lap after setting the fastest first and second sectors of the session ahead of the Aston Martin driver. Yes.
“It was a really good session, a good day,” added Hamilton, a seven-time Canadian champion. “I really enjoyed the session because the car had a strong feel.
“Obviously I didn’t finish my (best) lap, but yeah.”
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Sky F1's Ted Kravitz analyzes Mercedes' upgraded front wing in Monaco.
Russell: The car feels good.
Russell, who finished second behind Alonso in Friday's second session, was also cautiously optimistic about Mercedes' prospects on what is expected to be a busy Saturday.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” Russell said. “It was difficult to learn much because the conditions changed from lap to lap – spit, rain, dry, it was pretty fun.
“The car is in good condition, but we probably won’t find out until tomorrow.
“In FP3 the focus is usually on the qualifying runs, but we have to focus a bit on the race runs and then focus on the regular runs at the end of the session.
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Mercedes' George Russell said this about the radical new regulations set to be introduced in F1 in 2026:
“Then we will have to make changes very quickly between the two sessions because, to be honest, neither the teams nor the drivers have learned much today.”
The latest forecast calls for rain at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit on both Saturday and Sunday, and Russell believes these conditions will suit Mercedes.
“I felt confident in these circumstances,” the Briton added. “To push the limits in constantly changing conditions, you need to have faith in the car underneath you, and to be honest, I did.
“So, if conditions continue tomorrow, I think we're in a good position. Once it's completely dry, I honestly don't know. But my first opinion is that the car feels good.”
Live Canadian GP schedule on Sky Sports F1
Montreal will host round 9 of the 2024 F1 season along with the Canadian Grand Prix.
Saturday, June 8
5:15 p.m.: Canadian GP Practice 3 (Session starts at 5:30 PM)
8 p.m.: Preparing for Canadian GP qualifying
9 p.m.: Canadian GP qualifying
11 p.m.: Ted's Qualifying Notes
Sunday, June 9
5:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday – build-up to the Canadian GP.
7 p.m.: Canadian Grand Prix
9 PM: Checkered Flag – Canadian GP Reaction
10 PM: Ted's Notes
Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and you can watch every session from the Gilles Villeneuve circuit live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. The game will be played on Sunday at 7pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. There is no contract and you can cancel at any time.
