Hamilton sends Red Bull a warning: "We're coming"

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Hamilton putting it down as a "misunderstanding". The seven-time World Champion had front-wing damage, which Mercedes were able to change. In Q3, it looked like Hamilton would be Verstappen's closest challenger, but he dropped to P5. 

After qualifying, Hamilton was asked to describe the incident from his point of view. Hamilton looked to benefit from a tow down the home straight, but it all went wrong. He explained this to GPblog and others in Barcelona. 

"I got on the gas and started to pick up the pace. I came around Turn 13 and George looked like he was going into the pit lane. So I kept it going, and then suddenly, he cut back across, which was obviously a bit confusing. I didn't even know he was there. I think he had bailed out his first lap or something like that. So then I was towing him, just in case he was giving me a tow, and he started to move to the right, so I was like, ‘Oh, he is giving me a tow’. So I went to the left and started coming back across. So, just a misunderstanding," Hamilton said. 

Hamilton's warning to Red Bull

Mercedes applied their major upgrades in Monaco last time out. In Spain, Hamilton is getting a better reading of the performance. He confirms they are working and confidently draws a conclusion. 

"Either way, we couldn't have competed with the Red Bull. They're still in their own league. But we're coming. I think we've made some really great progress with the car.  Today, for us to be fighting for P2 was a big surprise. We did some great work overnight, and the car really felt so much better this morning. I just had so much more confidence in the car. These upgrades have definitely worked," Hamilton added, who finished eight-tenths behind Verstappen.