Hamilton: Mercedes won’t catch F1 rivals in the short term

Lewis Hamilton has revealed Mercedes is still lacking “two to three tenths” to its Formula 1 rivals and he’s certain that it’s a gap that won’t be closed in the short term.

Mercedes continued to lag behind Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend, with Hamilton ending 35 seconds down in sixth position.

Despite Hamilton expressing that Mercedes had made up ground with its Imola upgrades, the Briton has admitted that his squad is still missing time to the top three.

“I think my pace in the second stint was comparable to the guys that are out towards the front,” Hamilton said. “But I think we’re still lacking two or three-tenths.”

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Hamilton had divulged earlier in the week that Mercedes had more developments in the pipeline as it strives to continue adding performance to its revamped W15 car.

However, the seven-time F1 champion has cautioned that the upgrades the German marque will drop across the upcoming rounds will not bridge the remaining deficit.

Asked when Mercedes can expect to make inroads on the gap to those teams ahead in the Constructors’ Championship, Hamilton answered: “That I cannot tell you.

“I don’t have… that deficit, like I said George [Russell was] five-tenths off yesterday and in the race probably three or four-tenths.

“That’s not in the wind tunnel at the moment development-wise.”

Pressed on whether Mercedes had began to understand the new parts it implemented last weekend, Hamilton said: “Not a big difference. Small steps, but very, very small.”

Hamilton’s prospects during the race were hindered when he locked up and went through the gravel at Acque Minerale on Lap 28, although it did not cost him a place.

“I think probably about five seconds with that off,” he confirmed. “Then that meant that I came out behind Fernando [Alonso] and I lost another bunch of seconds there.

“So I think probably all in all, probably eight seconds maybe, not ideal. At least we didn’t lose any positions.”