Hamilton delivers 'high hopes' response to championship question

Lewis Hamilton has stated how realistic he believes championship challenges are at Mercedes this season.

The 39-year-old inherited Belgian Grand Prix victory from team-mate George Russell to claim his second triumph in three races after a 31-month winless run, dating back to December 2021.

In the past three rounds, Hamilton has scored 65 points, the most of any driver during that period. However, due to Mercedes' slow start to the year, the 105-time grand prix winner finds himself 127 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is 142 points back from Red Bull in the constructors' race - exactly 100 points behind McLaren in second position.

"No. It would be high hopes," the seven-time drivers' champion told media including RacingNews365 when asked if he and Mercedes can fight for titles this year.

"But, if we can continue this kind of performance as we've had the last few races, which has been fantastic, I think if we can start our weekends off a little bit better, hopefully we can continue."

W15 'night and day' across Belgian GP weekend

Despite being stripped of its one-two finish, there are plenty of positives for Mercedes to take from Spa-Francorchamps.

Friday provided a difficult day for the W15, with the Brackley team unable to get on top of the upgrades it brought to Belgium.

That led to the team temporarily abandoning those new parts for the rest of the weekend - a decision that drastically changed its fortunes.

"It was literally night and day different today," Hamilton recalled when comparing his car from practice to the race itself. "On Friday, it was pretty disastrous for both of us and really struggling with balance."

"And then [on Sunday], the car came alive and I was really surprised to, firstly, get into the lead and then be pulling away from everyone... It felt fully under control and I've not had that for years..."