Hamilton remains positive: 'There is real pace in the Mercedes'

These are difficult times for Mercedes, especially Lewis Hamilton. The former world champion failed to score good points in the first two Grands Prix of the season, with the Briton dropping out of the third race. In Australia, his teammate George Russell also failed to cross the finish line in Melbourne. Two Mercedes cars failing to see the finishing flag, it is a rarity, even Lewis Hamilton realises.

"I think it's all about perspective," he told the media in the paddock at Suzuka. "Obviously the first couple of races, it's like been small showings of the car feeling great and we would have pace for a moment and then it kind of disappears. So there's definitely performance there. We just need to work on making the car more consistent and easier to drive."

So Hamilton's message is: "I think it's all about perspective. I think for us, of course, we've not started the season where we want it to be. We've got a long way to go. We've seen in the past, last year for example, just how things can switch in certain teams. Like Aston Martin, or McLaren. Last year, they started on the back foot and had it the other way around, and so anything can happen in sports."

Hamilton optimistic about Mercedes

Still, Hamilton is keen to stress, it is not all doom and gloom. "So I think we've just got to go as much as we can, take a lot as much as we can from the data, remain positive, continue to work hard, and I always say it's not how you force it, it's how you get up. So we just need to continue to chase and fight."