Hamilton completed fifth on the opening race of the season in Bahrain after Mercedes emerged from preseason testing with the fourth quickest automobile.

After the primary race two weeks in the past, Hamilton stated his group hadn’t listened to his suggestions on what modifications wanted to be made to the automobile over the winter, though he stated on Thursday that these feedback have been “not your best option of phrases”.

With rivals Purple Bull profitable by such a big margin in Bahrain, it raised the query of whether or not Hamilton, who’s 38 years outdated and but to signal a brand new Mercedes contract past the top of this yr, would ever be ready to win once more in F1.

Requested precisely that forward of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton answered: “I’ll win once more. It is simply going to take a while.

Hamilton, who was 50 seconds adrift of Verstappen by the chequered flag in Bahrain, stated he had ready himself to be off the tempo at the beginning of the yr however had not anticipated such a big hole to the entrance.

“[We knew] we most likely would not hit the bottom straightaway on the entrance, however we thought must be there or thereabouts, so it was a little bit of a shock when that wasn’t the case,” he stated.

“I knew that we weren’t in the correct place after we noticed the automobile for the primary time, it appeared so completely different to that of our rivals. It is all the time nerve-wracking in that second.”

Hamilton insists he isn’t contemplating leaving Mercedes attributable to its current struggles, however known as on the group to make daring selections going ahead with a view to return to the entrance.

“In fact, there are occasions you are not in settlement with sure group members however what’s necessary is we proceed to speak, we proceed to drag collectively,” he stated. “I nonetheless have one hundred pc perception on this group. It’s my household and I have been right here a very long time so I do not plan on going wherever else.

“All of us want a kick, all of us have to get on. The proof is within the pudding, we have seen the place the efficiency is and the way persons are extracting the efficiency and we have got to now begin making some daring selections, some large strikes with a view to shut the hole to those guys [Red Bull] in any other case they are going to run away with it most likely this yr until Ferrari cease them.

“We’ll wait and see. Hopefully in some unspecified time in the future through the yr we’re hopeful we would be capable of shut the hole however at that time it can most likely be too late by way of preventing for a championship however we are able to nonetheless flip some heads hopefully.”