Lewis Hamilton has fired a warning to his F1 rivals following his return to the top step of the podium at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton took his first win since the end of the 2021 campaign last weekend to secure his 104th career win.
Mercedes has gradually improved its form this year after starting the campaign off the front-running pace.
The Brackley-based squad has largely struggled under the current set of technical regulations that were introduced in 2022.
With more upgrades set to be rolled out across the next two races from Belgium and Hungary, Hamilton is hopeful he will maintain a position at the front of the field and fight for more wins.
“There’s still a long, long way to go, but the car, by no means, is the car the quickest car on the grid right now,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.
“I think we are super close, and I think hopefully with a couple of, with the next upgrade perhaps, we will be in an even stronger position to really, really be fighting at the front row more consistently.”
Hamilton hoping for ‘high’ end Mercedes tenure
The current campaign is Hamilton’s final with Mercedes before his switch to Ferrari next year.
With a win in the bag, the seven-time world champion is continuing to aim towards ending his Mercedes tenure on a high.
“I think when we started the season and we had a car where we weren’t going anywhere near Red Bull, for example, anywhere near looking like we would ever get a win through the year.” he said.
“That for me felt like it would be kind of bittersweet at the end of the season, where you’ve not had something like today.
“And the fact that we’ve really all come together, everyone’s done such a great job to get the car into a place where we’re feeling much more comfortable and really changes from the foundation from last year.
“So not leaving on a low, but leaving on a high, which has been our goal.”