Lewis Hamilton not expecting ‘groundbreaking’ improvement from Mercedes at Imola

Mercedes have struggled to keep pace with Ferrari and Red Bull in the opening three races of the season

Hamilton insists there has not been any drastic changes made to his car ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP (AFP via Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton insists Mercedes have not made any ‘groundbreaking’ additions to their cars ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.

The reigning constructors’ champions have failed to show they can keep pace with Ferrari and Red Bull in the opening three races of the season.

Hamilton managed an impressive podium in the opener in Bahrain, but could only secure tenth at the Saudi Arabian GP.

While Mercedes then showed signs of improvement in Australia as Hamilton came fourth and teammate George Russell managed third, they still have some way to go if they are going to consistently challenge for victories.

And Hamilton admits they have not upgraded the car a great deal since the Melbourne race a fortnight ago.

As reported by RaceFans, he said: “Ultimately it’s fundamentally still the same car. I know everybody in the factory has been working hard over Easter to try to bring event the smallest bits of improvement to the car.

“We don’t have anything that’s groundbreaking that’s going to change our result but I hope that we do move slightly forward.”

Speaking about his chances of competing as the season goes on, he then added: “There’s a long way to go. You’ve seen in the previous year how much happens in a season.

“Still so many races to go, there’s still time for us to turn this around, there’s still time for us to fix this car and extract the full potential. I know that all the team are working flat-out to try to achieve that.”

After three races, Hamilton sits fifth in the drivers’ standings with 28 points.

Meanwhile, fellow Mercedes driver Russell has superbly put himself in second place, but remains a huge 34 points behind runaway leader Charles Leclerc.