Lewis Hamilton makes honest Charles Leclerc comparison: 'Just not good enough'

Lewis Hamilton offered an honest comparison to Charles Leclerc following the Austrian Grand Prix, insisting that his current race pace is "just not good enough". 

The seven-time world champion had a mixed weekend at the Red Bull Ring, which saw him qualify in fourth – his best qualifying result for Ferrari so far. 

A front row start would have been on the cards for the Briton; however, an issue with his car allowed Leclerc to secure a front row start. 

Despite the promising Saturday, race day was disappointing for Hamilton despite praising the performance of a new floor. 

He did judge Ferrari as having made steps in the right direction, although conceded that he would have not finished in second had he qualified on the front row.

"I think, we moved forwards," Hamilton told select media, including RacingNews365. "I think the upgrade was quite small, so we didn't really know [about it], they didn't even mention any time, because it was that small. 

"But I think perhaps that was a bigger result from putting the floor on, so that's a real positive. Really great to see the team bringing the upgrade and us moving forwards, being the second fastest, getting third and fourth is a real positive. 

"So there's lots of good things to take from the weekend, and there's lots of areas to focus on. I think qualifying was better. We found a problem that I had through my last qualifying lap, which lost me a tenth due to some issue on the car. 

"So that's, again, a positive. But I would have gone backwards if I started second, anyways. So I've got to find race pace. That's that's key for me."

Hamilton self-critical

Hamilton's main frustration at the Red Bull Ring was his race pace after crossing the finish line a comfortable nine seconds adrift of Leclerc. 

In the eyes of the 105-time race winner, his pace was simply not good enough compared to his team-mate, making it a crucial area of improvement.

When asked if he felt race pace progress had been made, Hamilton replied: "For me, no. Still losing massive ground. 

"To lose eight seconds, nine seconds to Charles. It's just not good enough. So that's what I've got to work on."