Lewis Hamilton has declared Mercedes as F1's "strongest team" and set his sights on usurping Red Bull after upgrades fitted to the W14 resulted in a double podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix. The German manufacturer had been struggling for performance since the sport ushered in new technical regulations last season, with George Russell's victory in a Mercedes one-two at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last term the only glimmer of hope provided. Continued struggles with the 'zeropod' concept this term led to a raft of changes being introduced for the Silver Arrows at the Monaco Grand Prix, though the full effects of the package could not be seen until circulating the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The weekend proved fruitful for Mercedes, with Hamilton finishing second to Red Bull's Max Verstappen and ahead of teammate Russell as the Brackley-based outfit leapfrogging Aston Martin for second in the Constructors' standings.
Solid platform
Asked if he felt Mercedes now had a solid platform to make further improvements, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 : "Definitely - as long as I have been racing, if you are quick [in Spain], you should be quick elsewhere. "But the way these cars work, they have a bit of a narrow working window, so there will be tracks where it's not so great, maybe, but I am hoping that's not the case. "We have gone into second in the Constructors' championship and I think we have the strongest team, particularly the drivers - George and I are punching out great results weekend in and weekend out. "Now we just need to pick up the performance a little but more, which I know everyone is working hard to do and hopefully, we can catch these Red Bulls at some stage."
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