After losing to Max Verstappen at the Styrian Grand Prix last Sunday, Hamilton said that Mercedes “somehow needs an upgrade” after finding it “impossible” to keep up with the Red Bull driver.
With the win, Verstappen extended his lead over Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ standings to 18 points, while Red Bull has now won all of the last four races.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff announced after the race that development of the car was halted in 2021 to postpone resources to 2022, but technical boss James Allison made it clear that updates are still in the pipeline for the car.
“We have a reasonable number of things that will make our car faster in the races to come and we hope they prove to be sufficient,” said Allison.
When asked about Allison’s comments ahead of the second race at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, Hamilton admitted he knew the updates were coming but again urged Mercedes to keep pushing to get more out of the car.
“Well, I mean, I knew this upgrade was coming,” said Hamilton.
“But at the end of the day everyone is working at full speed.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“We’re learning more and more about this car, discovering where to push and get more out of it, and I have all the trust in the team that we’ll have over time.”
Hamilton has failed to win any of the last four races and marked his longest run without a win since 2017-2018 when he drove six times in a row without reaching the top step of the podium.
Hamilton showed few signs of sticking to the growing gap with Verstappen and the increasing threat from Red Bull this year, suggesting the long season still to come.
“You obviously did a great job in these last few races,” said Hamilton.
“It was really difficult for us from Monaco, which of course was a bit of a disaster, and then the same for Baku.
“[It was] better in France and last weekend, but they are one step ahead of us. So we’re just working as hard as possible to fill this gap.
“We’re not even halfway through the season. So I’m still chasing this title. “
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