MOTOR RACING-Car upgrades are not a magic bullet, Hamilton says.

Baku, CMC: Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said upgrades to the Silver Arrows are the “start of a new path” for the Mercedes racing team, but it was not a guarantee that he would suddenly return to winning ways in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday.

Team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that Mercedes brought several upgrades in the coming weeks to improve the cars’ reliability and take them in a new direction. Mercedes is trying to close the gap on championship leaders Red Bull.

Hamilton was runner-up in the Australian Grand Prix on April 2. Still, he was realistic about his chances, considering the front of the field had become very competitive, with Aston Martin emerging as a genuine contender.

“I think it will be an upgrade, naturally, but I think it will be kind of the start of a new path for us,” he said. “It will still be the same car at the core, but part of getting where we want to be.

“We’re not going to hit the ground and be where we wanted to be at the start of the season, we’re not making up that crazy ground that there is –but I think it’s positive that so much great work has been done back in the factory to make time to progress in the right direction.”

Mercedes sits third in the constructors’ standings with the Arrows on 56 points, nine behind Aston Martin, and 67 behind Red Bull – but there is an opportunity for them to close the gap this weekend with extra points on offer in the Sprint.

“A lot of work has been done in the background; the last race was great for us – we worked hard to get that sort of result,” Hamilton said.

“It won’t be easy to do that again; the Ferraris will be quick, the Red Bulls, the Astons. I hope we are in the mix, and with the shake-up of the whole weekend, it’s probably the most exciting weekend so far.”

Mercedes took three victories at Baku through Nico Rosberg seven years ago, Hamilton two years later, and Valtteri Bottas the following year, but Red Bull have run the street circuit in recent years, with Sergio Perez winning two years ago in 2021 and Max Verstappen last year.