Lewis Hamilton demands Mercedes improvements despite podium in gripping British GP

Lewis Hamilton was keen to keep his Mercedes team focussed on improving despite securing a podium place at the end of a thrilling British Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion was embroiled in an almighty scrap in the final few laps, as the front-runners fought for a spot in the top three after a safety car restart. Carlos Sainz sped off into the distance to win a Formula 1 race for the first time, leaving Hamilton to fight for second with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

The Red Bull proved to be too quick, as Perez created a gap and secured second place quite comfortably. But third was all to play for, and Hamilton drove expertly to eventually get the better of Leclerc, who was struggling on old, hard tyres.

Fans at Silverstone let out a huge roar as he pulled away from Leclerc, and the stands were even louder when Hamilton crossed the line to secure third place. He even secured an extra point by securing the fastest lap of the race, achieved on his very last trip around the circuit.

While he was clearly delighted with the result, Hamilton made a point of calling for more improvements from his team to help him fight at the front more often. “I was trying to chase down those Ferraris but congratulations to Carlos,” he said. “They were just too quick, today for us and at then end I was in amongst that battle with Checo.

“Those guys were just too quick on the straights for me today… We've made a step closer to them so we have to keep pushing.” When asked whether he was struggling on either tyre compounds, Hamilton added: “No, I mean we lost a little bit of time in the pit stop and then I was chasing and chasing.

Lewis Hamilton wants more from Mercedes to help him challenge for further podiums ( Image: Sky Sports F1)

“But the pace was great on both sets of tyres and at the end it was a little bit difficult when you get a Red Bull behind you. They are so fast on the straight. We've got some improvements to make but this is a huge bonus for us.”

All that racing action came after the race was started for a second time, following a huge smash on the opening lap involving several drivers. The race was red-flagged after just 21 seconds, following the crash which took George Russell and Alexander Albon out of the race, and caused Zhou Guanyu's car to flip over.

Fortunately, the Chinese racer was okay and avoided major injuries, crediting the halo safety system for providing him with the protection he needed as his car skidded along the tarmac on its roof. The race was stopped before protestors stormed the track amid a hectic start at Silverstone, before they were removed.