Hamilton satisfied with progression: 'Focused on second place'

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is confident about the second half of the season. He sees that his team has made great strides this season and, talking to GPblog and others, indicates that he is putting his maximum focus on finishing second in the constructors' championship.

Hamilton had a disappointing start to the season; his Mercedes lacked the connection with the top of the field, and on top of that, customer team Aston Martin also regularly finished ahead of him. In the last few races, Mercedes seem to have somewhat found the pace again but have also immediately found a new challenger in McLaren. However, the seven-time world champion sees a big step forward: "I think our biggest step we took was when we got to Monaco, and the car has really progressed a lot since then. We have a lot of understanding, a better understanding of where to position the car, it's been a lot more consistent, we've been more podiums and more top-five finishes, which have been great."

Still, the Brit sees many positives, but he stresses that Mercedes is far from where it wants to be. "There's lots and lots of good bits but the car, the balance, we've still got to work on, and we need more downforce as we always do. But I know everyone back in the factory is head down and focused on it and just massively focused on getting second for the team, and the constructors and keeping that, along with trying to get third." Hamilton himself additionally sets himself the goal of third place in the drivers' standings.