Hamilton confident: 'Would have had chance of win without DRS issue'

Lewis Hamilton finished second for the second week running as Mercedes' recovery continues. Hamilton had to watch his younger teammate George Russell claim pole position yesterday as the seven-time World Champion had DRS issues. But the Brit recovered from P7 on the grid to yield what was his best possible result. 

Mercedes pick up the pieces 

The Brit didn't progress through the field quickly, but as the race went on Hamilton improved. He had strong pace in the closing stages of the race and chased down his teammate with around five laps remaining. Even with a splash of rain, Verstappen's 10-second advantage was too much but Hamilton remains pleased. He even insists if the DRS problem didn't occur in qualifying, he might've been able to win. 

"I was struggling at the start of the race and wasn't sure I could catch the guys up. I want to acknowledge my team that continues to push and not give up. For both cars to be on the podium twice is special for us. Unlucky for George. Others guys still have an edge but we're clearly closing the gap," Hamilton said in the post-session interview.

"I was hoping it would rain at the end, so I could challenge Max. But we ran out of laps. Would have been a better qualifying if DRS was okay yesterday and we'd have been in the run for the win."

Summer break

Now Formula 1 heads into a four-week summer break. Mercedes, who took four podiums in two weeks, take good momentum into the second half of the season. As Hamilton highligted.

"This is an amazing way to go into the break. Hopefully, we bring some more in the second part of the season and start fighting with the guys at the front," he added.