Lewis Hamilton has insisted Mercedes must make "big changes" to its W15 after feeling as though was racing in "a different category" to his rivals at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion finished ninth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit having seen a strategy gamble fail to pay off after opting against pitting behind the early safety car.
Hamilton was forced to observe the rear of Lando Norris' McLaren in the closing stages, unable to get past, and speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Briton said: "The car is relatively good in the low speed and not so bad in the medium [speed], but in the high speed we are miles off.
"It was like I was in a different category when I was going through the high speed between the other guys around me."It's frustrating for sure to be in three years in a row in almost the same position. It's definitely tough but we will get our heads down and keep working away, and I know everyone back at the factory is pushing as hard as they can."
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'Performance to add'
Hamilton's ineffectiveness on race day followed a difficult first race of the season in Bahrain where he and teammate George Russell were beset with cooling issues.
With the Mercedes proving slower than Red Bull, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren in Jeddah, Hamilton conceded: "We've definitely got to make some big changes.
"We haven't made big enough changes, perhaps. If you look at the three teams ahead of us, they still have different concepts to where we are in some areas. So we've got some performance to add, that's for sure."
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