Toto Wolff still believes Lewis Hamilton can get out of the "unlucky situation" he is in and race closer to the front of the pack as the season progresses.
A dismal season so far has seen the seven-time world champion finish on the podium just once, as he benefitted from Red Bull 's double retirement at the Bahrain curtain-raiser. In most other cases he has struggled to compete, with his 13th-placed finish at Imola a particularly galling low point.
Despite signs of improvement as both he and team-mate George Russell finished inside the top five in Barcelona, it was back to this season's norm in Monaco as he was forced to settle for eighth. The result leaves Hamilton 75 points adrift of championship leader Max Verstappen, with any hope of another world title this year already evaporating.
Mercedes, however, remain confident that more promising results are just around the corner, with team chief Wolff especially optimistic about the rest of the season. He believes the pace Hamilton showed at points during the Monaco race is evidence that better days may be coming soon for the defending constructors' champions.
"He could have been right there and could have closed Lando [Norris, sixth], or even fight with George [Russell] and Lando at the front because that was his pace," he told Sky Sports .
"When you look at the bad spells Lewis had, stuck behind Fernando [Alonso] today, the contact with Esteban [Ocon], the red flag in qualifying yesterday... I think the pendulum will swing and this unlucky situation will stop with Lewis as [he and teammate Russell] are very much on the same pace."
In order to share the same optimism as his boss, Hamilton might need the Mercedes' engineers to give him a more forgiving suspension package. He has suffered from the 'porpoising' effect on fast straights so far this year, while the bumpy Monaco track brought new levels of discomfort.
"I am praying that the car doesn't feel like it does here because here it has felt the worst it has so far with the bumps," the Briton said.
"My teeth and my jaw going the whole time, I am done with the shaking. Ours is so stiff that the suspension is driving it back into the ground. I am looking forward to some more open track and I am praying that it is not as bumpy as here."
