Lewis Hamilton ‘hunting’ for Austrian GP F1 podium after ‘changing the car’

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed Mercedes made significant changes to their car ahead of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton secured fifth on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, within a tenth of Mercedes teammate George Russell in third.

It was a strong result for Mercedes, which continues to be the third-fastest team in F1 behind Red Bull and McLaren.

Hamilton was content with the “progress” Mercedes had made ahead of qualifying but was lukewarm about his final Q3 effort.

“We made some progress with the balance of the car,” he said. “I should have probably started the weekend with this balance but nonetheless it was OK.

“The lap was pretty decent at the end. Middle sector was a little bit down.

“Overall it was alright.”

Hamilton is confident the setup changes will improve on his “pretty poor” race pace from the sprint as he eyes a possible podium challenge.

“My race pace was pretty poor this morning,” he added. “We have changed the car so I am hoping it will be better tomorrow in race pace.

“We’ve gone up on the rear wing. I am hoping we can lean a bit more on the Ferraris and try and hunt for the podium somehow.

“I’ve got to get past the Ferrari as soon as possible.”