Lewis Hamilton has highlighted a lack of confidence in the Mercedes W04 as the biggest factor in the speed differential between him and team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Having switched teams, the former-McLaren driver is having to adapt to the new car and he believes he doesn’t yet have the confidence to push it 100 per cent after being beaten to pole position by Rosberg at the last three races.
“At McLaren, I had 100 per cent confidence in the car, and I’m working to regain that confidence,” he told L’Equipe.
“The setup and the brakes are very different to what I was used to [at McLaren],” he explained.
Some journalists have criticised his lifestyle, pinpointing it as a distraction, but Hamilton dismissed those claims.
“It’s an overall feeling that’s hard to explain. It’s not a problem of concentration, it’s just confidence in the car.”
