Lewis Hamilton believes both he and his Mercedes car can only improve as the Formula One season progresses.

Hamilton has won four of the six races this season but after victory in the Monaco Grand Prix he rated his performances as only average and argued he had not managed to exploit the best from his car.

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He won in Monte Carlo after a testing race, during which he had struggled to make it to the finish on deteriorating tyres as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen chased him relentlessly to the flag. In doing so Hamilton extended his lead over his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was third, to 17 points and to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who was second, to 55 points.

Mercedes have won all six races and Hamilton has not finished outside the top two but he believes there is more to come. “I definitely feel that it’s been quite an average performance from myself – maybe above average but generally quite average for the first six,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got the best I could get. I’ve arrived prepared but, in terms of extracting the true performance from the car, I feel like I’ve struggled a little bit in these six races.”

Hamilton has in the past started seasons slowly before becoming comfortable with his car. “Without doubt it’s going to improve with the knowledge you gain over the season race by race,” he said. “I do anticipate things will get better as it will be for all of us. I hope at some stage I’m able to crack the issues that I’ve had and get back to the form I have within me. Whether that’s the next race or 10 races from now, I can’t really say but I am very focused.”

His advantage over Vettel already looks almost insurmountable and Monaco was the first race this season in which Ferrari have managed to put a driver into second place. They trail Mercedes by 118 points in the constructors’ championship. But the team’s principal, Mattia Binotto, was optimistic that they remain in the fight and that the next round in Montreal would not be decisive.

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“The race in Canada is not the last [hope] this season,” he said. “It is necessary to keep getting better with each grand prix. We have developed a programme that will solve problems that have arisen.”

Vettel said the problem was the elusive “grip guy” but did not expect any major advance in Canada. “Looking forward to the next three, four, five races, obviously we need to make sure we improve the car,” he said. “Put more grip on to the car so we can go faster, simple as that. But that guy seems to hide fairly well. I don’t know exactly where he is right now, so if you find him, or if you’ve got a number of that grip guy? But we’ve been looking for him for a while. I don’t think there are any secrets we will be able to unveil.”

Hamilton and Mercedes will expect to be stronger. They will bring their first upgraded engine of the season to Canada. “I know the guys back at the factory are working on developments,” Hamilton said. “I think we will probably have a new engine, so the car will continue to move forwards as we will.”