Lewis Hamilton is hoping Mercedes can provide some swift updates to their underperforming W14 after struggling for pace at the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 GP. The Briton was unable to match George Russell's pace during the Jeddah qualifying hour, but managed to recover ground and follow his teammate home in P5 on race day. The seven-time World Champion attributed the performance difference to an incorrect setup direction , but appeared closer to his teammate's pace in race trim compared to the qualifying session. When asked about the differences between the handling of the W14 in one-lap scenarios versus race conditions, Hamilton explained that the temperamental nature is more obvious in qualifying. "It's a massive knife-edge when you're at 95% and above," conceded Hamilton to media, including RacingNews365.com . "But when you're in the race stint, it's much more controllable and predictable. "I still don't have the confidence, but I'm doing the best that I can with it."
Hamilton: Positives to take despite need for upgrades
The Mercedes team managed to recover some ground by finishing ahead of both Ferraris in Saudi Arabia, which Hamilton saw as a "positive", but reiterated that he was still desperately seeking some upgrades to the W14. When asked if the outlook for Mercedes looked a bit better at the second race, Hamilton responded: "No I think it's the same. Still a long, long way off Red Bull. "It's definitely strange to see that Ferrari were behind us, that's a positive for us. "It's a different surface here, and we don't really understand why this surface works with our car and then it's different on others, so there's lots of positives taken from this weekend. "It will be up and down throughout the first few races. Hopefully we can get some upgrades ASAP and try to close that gap."
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