Lewis Hamilton explained how his Mercedes car transformed over the course of a weekend in which he returned to the podium in Canada.

The seven-time world champion complained that his W13 was "just getting worse" after a nightmare Friday, when he even ruled out his 2022 car.

Hamilton reported that the car was too stiff and "unroadworthy," the worst he had ever driven at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

However, he managed to keep pace with his rivals on Sunday, and after a safety car period late in the race, found himself briefly in contention for the win.

"The balance I had on Friday was neutral, super positive, all of a sudden the rear was gone," Hamilton told . "As soon as you turned a degree, the rear would slip away."

"I was struggling with it constantly and it was very difficult not to hit the wall. That's why I didn't finish my long stint, because I was just unplayable with that setup."

"We tried two different ways and mine was terrible. We gathered all the data we had and made drastic changes to the setup. It got much better, more in line with what we anticipated."

"I had a nice little dose of front-end exits with better traction, without those escapes. It was a night and day difference."

Sunday's result has given Hamilton and his team new energy, with the Briton now saying there is great potential hidden in his troubled car.

"It was a great feeling to be in that battle. And for a second there at the end, I even managed to keep up with those guys until they opened up," he commented.

"That gave a lot of hope for me and the team. I believe there is more to come from this car, the potential is really there if we get the setup right.

"I think trying to optimize the window for this car has been the hardest thing this year, it's much smaller than any other car I've driven.

"I haven't been on the podium for a while. So, especially since I took my first win here 15 years ago, going back there and being able to feel the energy of the crowd reminded me a lot of that first year here. I was very happy.

Hamilton warned his rivals that he knows what the team's next improvements should be to narrow Mercedes' gap to Red Bull and Ferrari.

"It's good when you do a full race and find out various things about the car, your relationship with it, the data and so on, so it was quite fruitful.

"One great thing is that we have excellent reliability, which is a real tribute to all the work the team is doing at both factories. We just need to stay focused and keep working."

"I know where they are, where I'm losing to those guys, so that's where I'll try to focus to improve," he concluded.