“With a little bit more digging and a little more hard work, hopefully we can get closer to having a chance to win a race,” says Lewis Hamilton; watch all the Austrian GP live on Sky Sports F1; Qualifying on Friday at 4pm, Sprint on Saturday at 3.30pm and race on Sunday at 2pm
By Matt Morlidge
Last Updated: 07/07/22 5:45pm
Lewis Hamilton says he now “truly believes” Mercedes can win a race this season – and is not ruling out a surprise at this weekend’s Austrian GP.
Mercedes, a distant third in the championship, have struggled for form so far this season but had their most competitive weekend of 2022 at the British GP, where Hamilton came close to his first victory.
While Hamilton eventually had to settle for a podium, the pace seems to have completely changed the seven-time world champion’s mindset.
Hamilton, speaking to media ahead of the Austrian GP – which is all live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend – admitted he “definitely wasn’t sure that we’d get a win in this car”, but now is more positive about his team’s chances.
“That’s definitely not the way we like to think but it was feeling like, jeez, there’s a long, long way to catch everyone up knowing the progress everyone makes,” Hamilton said. “But definitely hugely encouraging.
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“For a long, long time, we would make changes and not see it do what it says it was going to do and improve the car.
“It was a good step in Barcelona, but then we had several difficult races following it. Then we just had these last two races which were quite strong and that’s really encouraged us that we’re moving in in the right direction and that there really is potential in the car.
“With a little bit more digging and a little more hard work, hopefully we can get closer to having a chance to win a race.
“So I truly believe we can win a race win this year.”
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Zhou Guanyu discusses how he got out of his Alfa Romeo following his frightening crash at Silverstone
Hamilton is bidding to extend an F1 record for winning a race in every season, having done so since 2007.
He continued that there was “definitely potential” to win in Silverstone but Mercedes’ current performance is “not exactly the same level as the two teams ahead”, Red Bull and Ferrari.
“We needed everything to align,” he admitted.
Even in their dominant title-winning seasons, Mercedes have found it tough at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, where the 11th round of the season takes place this weekend – with an added Sprint race on Saturday.
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Sky F1’s Natalie Pinkham and Martin Brundle look ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring
Mercedes have only won one of the last five races at Red Bull’s circuit.
“Coming here, we’ve always struggled in Austria,” added Hamilton. “So it’s going to be hard to win here knowing the combination of corners. But not impossible.
“I’m hoping that we’re pleasantly surprised [on Friday] – but I might be wrong. I’ll find out, but I’m staying hopeful and the best thing you do is to arrive hopeful and positive and navigate from there.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Austrian GP schedule
Friday
8.55am: F3 Practice
10.05am: F2 Practice
12pm: Austrian GP Practice One (session begins 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.30pm: Austrian GP Qualifying Build-up
4pm: Austrian GP Qualifying
5.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Saturday
9.30am: F3 Sprint
11am: Austrian GP Practice Two (session begins 11.30am)
2.30pm: Austrian GP Sprint Build-up
3.30pm: Austrian GP Sprint
4.50pm: F2 Sprint
Sunday
7.30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
12.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Austrian GP Build-up
2pm: The Austrian Grand Prix
4pm: Chequered Flag: Austrian GP Reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
F1 2022 heads to Austria this weekend, and the Sprint is back! Join Sky Sports F1 for extensive coverage, with the Sprint starting at 3.30pm on Saturday and the race at 2pm on Sunday.