Hamilton seeks boost after Sochi blip

Lewis Hamilton is hopeful his Mercedes team have solved the performance problems that hit him at last month’s Russian Grand Prix.The three-time champion finished fourth behind triumphant team-mate Valtteri Bottas and both Ferraris in Sochi, leaving the circuit baffled by his lack of pace. But on arrival at the Circuit de Catalunya, along with his dog Roscoe, ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, the Briton said Mercedes had a “good understanding” of his Russian troubles.“Coming into this weekend, we have a good understanding of what went wrong,” he said, having brought Roscoe into a pre-race news conference where he slept under a table. “There has been analysis, as there is race-to-race. We have grown from experience, of having won with a fast car and a car that struggled in so many areas.“I definitely think we are better equipped now, but I can’t say it will be better this weekend...“I hope it will be. There will be upgrades for everybody and we will be doing work tomorrow to get the car in the right place.”Hamilton said he had struggled to extract performance from his tyres.“It was just a bunch of small things that all added up in one pot. Nothing in particular... Not a single one thing that was bigger than another.“That just led us in slightly the wrong direction, but it should be better this weekend. It is a tyre issue... the tyre window working range is quite small so, the whole weekend, I was generally not in the right window with it...”Hamilton brightened up when asked to lift Roscoe up in full view of a room crowded with reporters. “He’s asleep and he’s too heavy to lift,” he said.On a day when he revealed his favourite Star Wars’ sabre colour would be purple, he was asked also if he had seen or spoken to his former team-mate, retired 2016 champion Nico Rosberg.They both live in Monte Carlo in the same residential development. “Yes, I did see him, curiously,” he said. “In London. I was out running...”Hamilton recounted hearing someone running behind him, during a training run, and turned to discover it was Rosberg. “We had a chat,” he said. Asked who was running fastest, he smiled. “Well, he was trying to catch up wasn’t he?”Ferrari’s Vettel guarded over Mercedes switchChampionship leader Sebastian Vettel played coy yesterday when tackled over suggestions that he is considering a switch from Ferrari to Mercedes next year. The four-time champion avoided giving an answer after it was put to him that Italian sources had claimed he was already in talks with the champions.Speaking at a scheduled news conference ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Vettel said he was only concerned with leading Ferrari’s challenge this year. “Is it coming from Italy?” he asked in response to one question. “I don’t know... Maybe you asked the Italians?“They seem to know more than I do. I think the situation is clear. My main focus is on this year...“We find ourselves in a very good position and that’s what we want to keep. Everything else is not that important.”Vettel was in a laid-back mood, joking with home hero Fernando Alonso of McLaren who was sitting alongside him. Asked about his prospects for success in this weekend’s contest, he was similarly cagey. “I think we are in a much better position this year, than previous years, but it’s still fairly early. “This will be an important race. People bring some bits, but if you look at the last 10 years, it’s not anymore a fixed date where you bring a new car. Top teams tend to bring stuff nearly every race. “Mercedes have had a phenomenal run the past few years and they’re still the ones to beat. If you look race by race, and overall, they’ve been dominant and it’s difficult to beat that, but we’re doing our best.”After two wins in the opening four races, Vettel leads the championship ahead of three-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes by 13 points.