Hamilton pleased to see Honda battling with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton suggests he is pleased to see Honda make a return to the top because of his childhood memories with Ayrton Senna driving for McLaren-Honda.

Max Verstappen proved Honda had enough power by giving them their first podium since 2008. On the way to this podium in Melbourne, Verstappen overtook Ferrari's, Sebastian Vettel.

The current World Champion had a slight scare towards the end of the race as Max Verstappen was catching. Hamilton claimed this was "no problem" in his post-race interview.

Since then, the Brit has praised Honda for their improvement with Red Bull and highlights Verstappen's overtake on Vettel as a key area.

“It's great to see the improvement that it's had for the team. They were with Renault for such a long time and he [Verstappen] was able to pass the Ferrari. It's awesome," Hamilton told the Express.

“I remember growing up watching Ayrton [Senna] drive the Honda [at McLaren] and they were a formidable force back then and it's great to see them back up there. I hope that their reliability maintains so we can keep a close battle through the year.

“It's great to see the improvement that it's had for the team."