“We’ve learned a lot,” the British driver explained. “You’re always going to learn more in these situations than you are when you’re winning and not experiencing these things.
“I’m still happy in a way that we’re experiencing them now and we’re still learning from these things – it’s better than later on when we probably have even more chances to do so. It hurts and I think, those tough times, you’re going to experience at certain times and certain points.
TECH WEEKLY: How crucial updates from McLaren and Mercedes brought the 2024 season to life
“I think everyone has talked about it so much because it’s for a race win – it’s not like we’re fighting for a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, like we were last year or even the last five years. We’re talking about race wins, so of course it’s going to mean more and hurt more when you lose, and you’re going to celebrate more when you win.
“But you’re also fighting with the big dogs, and you’re fighting towards the top end and you’re going to pay the price more when those things are not perfect. I’m good, I’m happy with how we’re working as a team and the things we’re doing.
“I feel like a lot of people forget about the good things that we’ve also done – we’ve also been the most consistent team and the best-performing team on average over the last two months, so that should be the headline, not the rest of it.”