Lewis Hamilton likens “roasting” Mercedes F1 car to “sitting in a sauna with no shorts on”

Lewis Hamilton has shed light on the overheating issues he and Mercedes F1 teammate George Russell were having in practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Conditions were sweltering at Monza with conditions over 30 degrees.

This made life tricky for the drivers, particularly the Mercedes duo.

Hamilton complained about the seat in his cockpit being “so hot” - but it didn’t stop him from setting the fastest time in second practice at Monza.

Speaking after the session, Hamilton described it as being “ridiculously roasting” while making an amusing comparison to sitting in a sauna.

“It was ridiculously roasting in our car,” he said. “I am not quite sure exactly [why]. Down by the radiator it was probably some leakage of hot air.

“It was very hot. Like sitting in a sauna with no shorts on, sort of pain.”

Hamilton was encouraged by the pace of the Mercedes W15, describing it as a good day with the car “feeling even better” as the day progressed.

“It’s been a good day,” he added. “Generally felt pretty good. It’s obviously a new tarmac. It’s been a bit of a challenge and all of the new kerbs. The car felt good from the start.

“Going through P1, a lot of graining. People were struggling with tyres, including us. We made some good changes over the break. The car was feeling even better in the session. Still some work to do on a few things, a few areas.”

The seven-time world champion also warned Mercedes over making sweeping adjustments to the setup of the car after a positive Friday.

“Feeling good,” he explained. “It’s going to be really important the work we do tonight, the work we do back in the simulator.

“We need to really tread carefully with the setup to put the car too out of bed like we’ve done in the past.”

Hamilton last won the Italian Grand Prix back in 2018 for Mercedes.