Lewis Hamilton reaches concerning Ferrari upgrades verdict

Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari's fresh Austrian Grand Prix upgrade has not "necessarily changed" the team's competitive standings.

The seven-time world champion had to settle for a disappointing 10th on the timesheets on the opening day at the Red Bull Ring, and found himself almost a full second off the pace. 

Lando Norris set the pace in Spielberg, whilst Charles Leclerc managed to secure fifth in second practice, yet he too was several tenths adrift of the McLaren driver.

Ferrari's upgrade package consists of a brand-new floor, which failed to improve the SF-25. In addition, Hamilton suffered from a gearbox issue in first practice. 

As a result, a gearbox change was conducted following the opening session, something the 40-year-old did praise his team for.

"A huge amount of work went on to bring the floor, but as you can see, it has not necessarily changed our competitiveness," Hamilton explained.

"The car doesn't actually feel that bad, it is just a huge chunk off pace-wise, so we need to look into that, and that is about it, really.

"We'll just keep pushing and trying to dial the car in more and see what we can get, but it is obviously close in the top 10, a tenth can make a difference, so that's what we'll work on.

"It was not spectacular, and we had a problem with the gearbox in the morning, which was difficult and frustrating for everyone.

"The boys did a great job keeping it topped up, but you could go out and only do one lap, so we didn't get the long runs in, but I think we recovered okay.

"They did a great job changing the gearbox and getting us ready for P2, but Charles was six-tenths off, and I was close to a second off, so it is not ideal. 

"But there is lots of learning, I think we'll make some changes and hopefully, we can get a little bit closer, but we won't be at the front."