Lewis Hamilton hands Ferrari instruction after Austria 'reality check'

Lewis Hamilton has told Ferrari it must continue to try to seek to improve its power unit after the "reality check" of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton came into the Spielberg weekend off the back of his first Ferrari victory in Barcelona, and qualified in third place, ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

However, during the race, the team opted for a three-stop strategy to combat its tyre degradation in the sweltering conditions, with Hamilton coming in fifth place. 

The SF-26 did feature a new and improved power unit at the Red Bull Ring, but the Ferrari challenge is being hampered by a smaller turbo which means the car does not hold top-end speed compared to the Mercedes.

Describing the result as a "reality check", Hamilton insisted that the team needed to continue to try to develop its power unit to remain in the title fight - with the Briton now third in the drivers', having been overhauled by race-winner George Russell.

"I think it's more of a reality check. I think we don't know why we were so competitive on Sunday in Barcelona," Hamilton explained to media, including RacingNews365.

"I think that's a very strong track for me. I chose a strategy that I thought, from experience I knew that would work with the tyre degradation that we had. It was like 2021, you know. 

"But in Austria, I think we were hit more with reality, which is that, we still do have a good car, but we are down compared to Mercedes, just on outright pace.

"They just are quicker, and we still have to keep developing. It doesn't mean we can't close that gap. It's just that one win doesn't mean we're going to be beating them all the time.

"I think it's the opposite. We've got a lot of work to do to try it. We still have to continue to add performance to the car, particularly power, which is where we're going to have to keep working and pushing."