Lewis Hamilton says technical problems on his Mercedes are becoming all too regular after another issue struck during Saturday's qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton's qualifying was compromised for the third time this season when a fuel pump issue stopped his car soon after leaving the garage for his first run in Q3. Although he has yet to retire from a race with a reliability problem this season, the gremlins have been compounded by his own mistakes at the start of races and have given team-mate Nico Rosberg the edge in the championship fight.
Asked if it was frustrating to have so many problems in the opening six races of the year, Hamilton said: "It's just becoming the norm now. It's to be expected."
And he was not optimistic about his chances of victory on Sunday in Monaco.
"What will be, will be. I will do whatever I can. There's many races still ahead. I don't really expect too much from tomorrow. I'm going in with the goal, of course, of trying to overtake the two cars in front -- but we shall see."
When it was put to Toto Wolff that Hamilton was no longer dealing with the problems with the upbeat attitude he displayed at the start of the season, the Mercedes boss said he did not expect his driver to hide his feelings.
"Lewis wears the heart on his sleeve and when he has a bad day you can see that and it's fair enough, it's his character but he has bounced back very well after Barcelona," Wolff said. "With some you can see the frustration and others you won't. It's clear that we are all upset about the situation that we keep having those gremlins that spoil our performance. I think that's good, we want him to be authentic."