Hamilton jokes about Mercedes 'guinea pig': 'Maybe Russell from now on'

Lewis Hamilton hopes Mercedes will be more careful in experimenting with the set-up of the W13. After his podium in Canada, the Briton hopes he can keep the momentum going after being the team's guinea pig for so long.

Hamilton is struggling this season with the W13. Mercedes is trying to tackle the porpoising problem and find more performance. As a result, many experimental set-ups are being carried out with Hamilton's car.

On Friday in Canada, the seven-time world champion was dissatisfied with the balance of his car, but after a number of changes, the Briton managed to qualify fourth and finish third on the podium. Hamilton will be hoping the team can carry on the positives from the weekend.

"Maybe in the second half of the season, George can do the experiments!", jokes Hamilton on Crash.net when asked if there is light at the end of the tunnel after being the team's guinea pig in the first half of the season.

Mercedes will be more cautious

"We're just trying to progress as a team. I think moving forward, I think we'll be a little bit more cautious on doing too many experiments as it really does hinder you through the weekend, especially if you only have practice one and two in the dry and don't get a FP3, for example."

With his P3, Hamilton beat teammate George Russell for the first time in seven races. Russell has impressed with his consistency this season, with the 24-year-old driver finishing inside the top five in every race.