Hamilton's concern for Silverstone after Austrian GP reality check

The seven-time world champion finished fifth in the Austrian Grand Prix, as Ferrari struggled to match the pace set by the two Mercedes drivers and Max Verstappen's Red Bull. It was a tough day for Ferrari who were coming off the high of winning their first race of the season in Barcelona.

Hamilton arrives into Silverstone this week looking to win his home race for a record 10th time. However, the nature of the Silverstone circuit with "lots of straights and lots of deployment" is one that presents some concern to Hamilton, but is hopeful that he gets some extra performance with the help of the support from his home crowd.

Speaking to the media including GPblog after the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton said the race showed that Ferrari still have a gap to close down to Mercedes despite their victory in Barcelona.

He said: "I think it's more of a reality check. I think we don't know why we were so competitive on Sunday in Barcelona. I think that's a very strong track for me. I chose a strategy that I thought from experience I knew that would work with the deck that we had just like 2021. But then today I think we were hit more with reality, which is that we still do have a good car, but we are down compared to Mercedes.

Asked about Ferrari's potential performance at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton added: "Well, there's lots of straights in Silverstone. Lots of straights and lots of deployment, and not many places to recover the power. But maybe the deficit won't be as big as here. I don't know. But there are a lot more straights. So hard to say. I hope we're in a better place. I hope that just by the fans giving there, we get an extra bit of performance."