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Lewis Hamilton feels Mercedes is becoming more of a race car now and could be able to close the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari up front. The Mercedes driver is going through his worst winless streak in F1 of 14 races. His best result this season has been P2 in the last two races in France and Hungary.
Having said that, despite all of this, Lewis Hamilton has been on a very consistent run in the last few races. The driver has scored five consecutive podiums in the last five races including 3 P3 finishes and 2 P2 finishes.
When questioned about the possibility of finally winning a race this season, Lewis Hamilton was optimistic that it could happen and said:
"I do, definitely. I think of course we've been improving, we've had this consistency that's come up in the recent races and great progress the team is making, everyone pulling together and continuing to push."
He further added:
"And the car's becoming more of a racing car, which is not particularly what it was at the start of the year – more like a normal racing car in the sense of its characteristics. And the last race was the best showing that we've had so far, and that for us was a huge boost that we can close that gap. Naturally it's going to continue to be tough, we will keep our heads down. The other guys are doing an amazing job, but I do believe we can close the gap."
With Charles Leclerc facing a power unit penalty this weekend, it further enhances Lewis Hamilton's chances to score a win at the F1 Belgian GP.
Lewis Hamilton's teammate echoes his sentiments
Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell shared the same viewpoint as he admitted that the team had made a lot of progress this season. He said:
"Absolutely I share that confidence. I think it's based on the fact we've made a huge amount of progress. I think we're also bringing more performance to the car in the coming races, which is really exciting, and I think we learned a lot in the last few races prior to the summer break."
Russell also talked about how inspiring it was for him to see the entire team get together and make a comeback. He said:
"So, it's really kind of inspiring to see how the team has pulled together in the tough moments at the start of this year and seeing how we've closed that gap. I think there's plenty more to come and we're giving it everything."
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have scored consecutive double podium finishes in the last two races. It will be interesting to see how the weekend pans out for the team this time around.
