Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton conceded that it was impossible to keep up with Max Verstappen throughout Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was forced to settle for second on the road, while championship rival Verstappen took his third victory in four races.
Verstappen, who now holds an 18-point lead over Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings, was always out of reach of Hamilton throughout Sunday’s 71 racing laps.
“It was a bit of a lonely race, really,” Hamilton reflected. “I was trying to keep up with those guys, but the speed they have, they’ve obviously made some big improvements over the last couple of races.
“It was impossible to keep up. I don’t know where we are losing all the time.
“The long runs seem to be a bit better, they seem to be able to continue pulling out those laps and obviously we lose a lot down the straights.
“It feels like we lose a lot down the straights. Nonetheless, we got good points as a team today and we’ve got to keep pushing.”
The development focus throughout the grid is primarily on the 2022 cars, which are being built under a new set of technical regulations.
However, Hamilton believes Mercedes must fit a car upgrade in at some point this year in order to keep Red Bull within their sights.
“Naturally they are just faster than us,” Hamilton said. “There’s not a lot I can do in that respect.
“I’ve just got to keep trying to do the best job I can each weekend. We really need to find some performance.
“We need an upgrade of some sort, we need to push. I don’t whether it’s just the rear wing, or it’s the upgrade in the engine, or whatever it may be. But we’ve got to find some performance from somewhere.”
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