Lewis Hamilton described McLaren’s pace during qualifying for Formula 1’s British Grand Prix as “a wake-up call” for Mercedes.
McLaren updated its MCL60 ahead of the last round in Austria, with Lando Norris running the upgraded package, before sufficient parts were readied for Oscar Piastri to also take the new specification at Silverstone.
World Champion Max Verstappen secured pole position during an eventful qualifying session but McLaren captured second and third on the grid.
Hamilton, who trailed Norris in Austria, was left down in seventh position, one spot behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
“It’s not a blow, it’s just a wake up call for us,” he said. “Others are overtaking us. We need to do more.
“Of course, I’ll try and be optimistic and do our best but realistically I’m not sure how… We will find out. It was difficult to get past the two Ferraris and we’ve got two McLarens now there. It is going to be a tough race.”
Hamilton quipped that McLaren’s MCL60 looks “very, very similar down the sides” to Red Bull’s RB19.
“That’s great, to have them up in the mix, which is what we want to see in this sport,” said Hamilton.
Russell added that he was “exceptionally surprised” by McLaren’s display.
“I’m not too sure where all that performance has come from, even last weekend,” said Russell.
“That’s going to be the interesting one tomorrow. You often see teams quick on a Saturday and go backwards on a Sunday. I have a sneaky feeling that won’t necessarily be the case with McLaren. So we have a fight on our hands.”
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