Hamilton says Mercedes have “a lot to come in the next races” from their car · RaceFans

Mercedes will continue to press on with their development push over the coming races, says Lewis Hamilton, following their recent gains.

Mercedes have cut their deficit to pace-setters Ferrari and Red Bull in the last three rounds. Hamilton and team mate George Russell appeared to be in contention for pole position at the last race until the pair suffered separate crashes in qualifying.

The team has brought another aerodynamic upgrade to this weekend’s race at Paul Ricard. Hamilton indicated their development push will continue into and after the summer break which follows the next round.

“It’s been really positive to have some consistency coming back,” he said today. “Bit by bit we’re getting a little bit more comfortable in the car. Also with the direction where you set the car up, where you position the car, what the car will accept.

“Obviously it bit me in the last race [weekend] with the crash in qualifying. But otherwise we’re constantly adding performance, we’re constantly progressing forwards.

“There’s a lot to come in the next races and I’m excited by that. In the last race we were only a few tenths off the lead guys in qualifying. Slowly we’re getting closer.

“The gap may be bigger in some tracks, who knows. But in the last race I was seeing it on TV, the battle up ahead, I hope that I get to be a bit more in the battle some time soon.”

Halfway through the season Hamilton is yet to win a race. He has never completed a championship without taking at least one victory. However he said he isn’t dwelling on when he’ll get the chance to score another.

“I’m working towards getting that win,” he said. “I do believe at some stage we’ll be able to compete with these guys. Whether it’s this weekend or in five races’ time, I don’t really think about that.

“I think more about the journey. The journey is the important part. We started off not where we wanted to be. We’ve made progress. We started to reach a pattern of a bit of consistency. Not a single person in our team has given up and we’ve continued to push, so I’m really proud of the process and experience that we’ve had.

“Entering into the season, it’s not necessarily the one you would ask for, but if anything it’s been a really valuable lesson learnt for all of us – and experience. I think we sharpened our tools in lots of other areas so that when we do get back to where I feel like we…