Lewis Hamilton warns Ferrari F1 fix to catch Mercedes is 'a while' off

Lewis Hamilton conceded that Ferrari will not be able to match Mercedes' power "for a while", after falling to a distant fifth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton achieved his 106th Formula 1 victory a fortnight ago in Barcelona as Ferrari introduced a significant upgrade package. 

But despite debuting its upgraded power unit at the Red Bull Ring, the seven-time champion was unable to convert a third-place grid slot to a podium.

Faced with the suggestion that Ferrari could use another upgrade sooner rather than later, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1, "We're going to have to push really, really hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade. 

"But yeah, when you're around these guys, it's just deployment. It doesn't necessarily feel so much as power because when you start to come out of the corner, it feels like you've got the grunt, but it's just deployment at the end. 

"Ours stalls off, and you know, particularly Mercedes, they just keep going. So we've got to look at why and how we can improve that, but that's not going to come for a while."

In Barcelona, Hamilton and Ferrari gambled on an aggressive three-stop strategy to counter the high levels of tyre degradation expected in the high temperatures. 

With similar conditions in Austria, Ferrari attempted to run the strategy again, with Hamilton utilising all three compounds across the 71-lap distance. 

"I didn't agree with any of the tyres today," he added. "I tell you, it was a really, really tough race. 

"One, being extremely hot. My start wasn't really very good, to be honest. My getaway was poor, but then I was on the attack. 

"Obviously got past uh Charles and then I thought it wasn't looking too bad in the first few laps with George. I was kind of holding on for a second, and then the rears just dropped off on every set."

"For some reason, the balance was very open, very difficult. On Friday, we were down six tenths just in straight line speed, and I'll have to go and see what the case was today, but I'm sure it was not insignificant. 

"But also just grip-wise, we just couldn't keep up with everyone today."