Hamilton: Mercedes has ‘definitely upped its game’ in F1 title fight

After a run of five races without a victory, Hamilton hit back at Silverstone with a victory.

Misfortune for Max Verstappen at the Hungaroring allowed Hamilton to take the lead of the championship for the first time since May.

A significant upgrade for the British Grand Prix appeared to move Mercedes forward in terms of performance, but Hamilton believes his team has improved operationally throughout the campaign.

“I think we’ve definitely upped our game,” Hamilton said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. “I think we’ve also just during this break, in terms of taking time to reflect to look where we’ve been and where we are going.

“I have no doubts we will take another step forward in our processes and how we apply ourselves. It’s been a real positive thing to see.”

Hamilton sits eight points clear of Verstappen in the championship, while Mercedes holds a 12 point advantage in the constructors’.

After seeing how competitive Verstappen was in the first half of the season, Hamilton doesn’t see a need to be more “wary” of Red Bull’s threat.

“I don’t feel like I am more wary than I was at the beginning of the year,” Hamilton added. “We knew how quick they’d be at the beginning. We’ve obviously seen the speed and the competitiveness of them in the past. Of course, as we’ve got through the season they’ve got stronger and stronger.

“It’s been harder for us as we’ve gone on. We’ve had a bit of a difficult patch but we’ve got back, in terms of operating, to how we have in the past to a good place but it’s going to be close, it’s going to be tough this second half of the season.

“The first half was definitely one of the toughest and it’s going to be pretty much the same in the second half, if not more difficult.”