Hamilton says last year's tough races had "significant" effect on new car

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the races his Mercedes team found tough last year had a big say on the design of the 2018 car.

For example, in last year's Malaysian GP, won by a dominant Max Verstappen, neither Hamilton or Bottas were on the pace of the Dutchman, and it was races like this that has inspired the W09.

"I remember last year in Malaysia we had a very in-depth debrief afterwards and those particular debriefs that we had were significant in making today's car.

"In those debriefs only Valtteri and I talk, really."

Mercedes are looking to complete five consecutive double titles, constructors' and drivers' championships in the same season.

The only other team to achieve this feat is Ferrari, from 2000-2004.

Hamilton is excited for the new season, saying he can improve on last year's performance.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to it. As you start to go through the training process, you start to discover your goals.

"It's quite simple, I want to somehow be better than I was last year. Last year was the best year I had performance-wise.

"How can I top that? How can I improve on what was a very strong year? There are lots of areas actually.

"Even my relationship with my team is still growing. How I interact with my team is constantly growing.

"Ultimately utilising them to get my goal helps them get theirs."