Lewis Hamilton questions tactics as Max Verstappen extends lead with Styrian win

Lewis Hamilton has spoken about his Mercedes team’s tactics and lack of upgrades after finishing second at the Styrian Grand Prix, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Hamilton had been bumped to second in the grid after team-mate Valtteri Bottas was given a three-place grid penalty, but he wouldn’t go any higher in the race at the Red Bull Ring.

The race meant that Red Bull had won their fourth race in a row and marked the fourth race without a win for Mercedes for the first time in the turbo hybrid era, which began in 2012 after Sebastian Vettel’s fourth World Championship win.

Hamilton has pointed at the lack of upgrades for his team’s performances this season and feels the title could be slipping away from Mercedes.

“I was giving it absolutely everything. I don't really know where they were gaining all the speed but I think it was everywhere in general but particularly on the straights as far as I'm aware, so they've definitely made some big steps over the last couple of races and we've not really got an answer for it,” Hamilton said

“We’ve not brought any upgrades,

“I don't remember the last time we brought an upgrade, but they have; they've clearly brought the engine upgrade and they’ve brought some other part of the package and it's just eked them ahead.

“So whilst there's a really long, long way to go, with speed like that, we've not really got much we can do, so we've just got to keep pushing.

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“I've got confidence in the team that we'll somehow find something.”

Hamilton is now 18 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers Standings while there’s a 40 point gap between Red Bull and Mercedes in the Constructor Standings.

The next race will take place next week, once again at the Red Bull Ring and Hamilton will be hoping to close the gap.

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