Lewis Hamilton has labelled McLaren's step forward as a "wake-up call" for Mercedes after his former team secured second and third on the grid for the British Grand Prix. The Woking-based outfit introduced a much-anticipated upgrade package to Lando Norris' car at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri benefiting from the update at Silverstone this weekend. Norris' pace at the Red Bull Ring provided a glimmer of hope that McLaren could enter the mix with what had become the established top four of Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin, but the stunning qualifying effort from both drivers has confirmed its place at the top of the grid. Addressing McLaren's step forward, Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.com : "It's not a surprise, if you look at the car it makes sense. "I am really happy for them, they have had such a bad run for so long so to see them back up there is really great to see. "It's not a blow, it's just a wake-up call for us. Others are overtaking us and we need to do more."
Red Bull similarities
McLaren's form has created a fluctuating pecking order consisting of the teams behind Red Bull down to Alpine - the French manufacturer having also shone at points this campaign. The results somewhat validate F1's new regulation set, despite the car designs already converging. Clarifying his remarks that McLaren's pace 'made sense', Hamilton explained: "If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it's working. "We now have another team in the mix, which is what we want to see in the sport. They had the edge on us in the last race."
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