Hamilton ready for battle: "I need to bring my 'A' game, end of story"

It's been nearly two full months since Lewis Hamilton last recorded a pole position in Formula 1. Red Bull Racing have the upper hand heading into the middle part of the season and Mercedes are having to fight really hard for the 2021 World Championship. 

In the Styrian Grand Prix, Hamilton will start alongside Verstappen on the front row of the grid. The two World Championship contenders will be doing battle again in the race, for which Hamilton is bringing his "A-game". 

"We need to be on the top of our game with strategy. Try to keep as close to them as we can. I think we're always working flat out. We're behind this year so we're having to push even more. Make sure there's no stone unturned to make sure we're getting everything from the car. We're enjoying part of that battle," Hamilton told Sky Sports. 

"We can't put more downforce on because we'd go slower on the straights. We're already losing on the straights so there's no hope for that. It said it was going to rain the past two days but it didn't. I've not thought about [rain tomorrow], I don't care either way. I need to bring my A-game, end of story."

Pushing hard

Mercedes have picked up every world championship since 2014. In the middle of that period, they had some competition from Ferrari but that didn't trouble the German team too much. However, in 2021, Verstappen and Red Bull are pushing Mercedes all the way. 

"We gave it everything. It's been a long week. I think I helped advance the team forwards this weekend. But still, we're lacking performance and it was so hard to match his [Verstappen] time today. I'm happy and proud of everyone for their hard work. We're still there in the fight, it's going to be tough tomorrow to topple Red Bull," Hamilton added.