Sir Lewis Hamilton heads into this weekend’s returning Singapore Grand Prix hoping that his car will “feel like Budapest and Zandvoort”, in order to challenge the frontrunners.
The seven-time World Champion and team-mate George Russell were both strong at the Hungarian and Dutch Grand Prix, largely thanks to high downforce circuits suiting the ‘diva’ that is the W13.
Mercedes’ car has been troublesome all year, with it seemingly performing much better at high downforce circuits rather than low downforce venues.
Mercedes are, of course, still searching for their first victory of the year, with the Germans only having six races left to ensure they taste victory this season.
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Should the team fail to win, then it will mark the end of Mercedes’ run of winning a race every year since 2012.
Team boss Toto Wolff has predicted that this weekend’s race at the Marina Bay Circuit “should suit” the W13, whereas Russell is less optimistic due to the car having struggled at street circuits this season.
Many have asked Mercedes where they think they’ll be able to win, with the team’s best chance so far having been the Dutch GP.
Russell has predicted that the United States Grand Prix should be a strong weekend for the Brackley-based outfit; however, Hamilton has admitted he has “no idea” where the car will work best.
“I have no idea where our car is going to be great,” Hamilton told reporters ahead of Singapore.
“It was a surprise when we got in the car, and the car felt so much better than [at Spa], like completely different to the previous weekend.
“But I’m hoping more often than not, it feels like Budapest and [Zandvoort] for the rest of the races.”
The 37-year-old desperately needs to win one of the remaining races, both for the team’s sake and his.
Whilst Mercedes have their own record to maintain, the Brit has an even older streak to extend.
Hamilton has unbelievably managed to win at least one race every year since 2007, when he joined the championship with McLaren.
Should Hamilton win a race this year, then he will break the record for most consecutive seasons with a race win, a milestone he currently holds with Michael Schumacher at 15 years.
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The Mercedes driver has reiterated that he isn’t “focused” on the record, due to not “really caring” about milestones.
“I’m not focused on the record but of course, I’m trying to get that win this year,” Hamilton added.
“But the record is not important to me, just because I don’t really care about records in general.”