Hamilton disappoints in Austria: 'The balance became difficult'

Lewis Hamilton could not be satisfied with his performance during the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The English driver did not manage to get on the podium, while Max Verstappen won again.

The seven-time world champion had to start the race from fourth position. Although he worked hard to drive towards Verstappen, he just couldn't get past Lando Norris. "Lewis took a lot out of his tyres trying to pass in the first stint," engineer Andrew Shovlin told Sky Sports F1. "Once he'd got through on lap 20, Max was too far up the road for us to mount a challenge."

Later in the race, Hamilton suffered damage to his car. "It looks like the bodywork damage for Lewis was at the end of lap 29 just before we came in. The downforce loss was around six or seven-tenths but as it was all from the rear, the balance became difficult and we were damaging the rears with sliding."

World championship standings

Hamilton's fourth-place finish means Verstappen is further ahead in the world championship. The Dutchman now has a 32-point lead over his rival, as he also drove the fastest race lap.