good news; Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes can do better than ferrari……..

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes and McLaren can mount a title challenge in the second half of the season, because of Sergio Perez’s struggles at Red Bull.

The Silver Arrows went into the summer break on the back of three wins in four races, with George Russell triumphing in Austria, Lewis Hamilton winning the British Grand Prix and taking top spot in Belgium after his teammate’s disqualification.

Mercedes’ three wins came either side of Oscar Piastri’s victory in Hungary, McLaren’s second win of the season and the ninth consecutive race the Papaya had one driver on the podium – a streak which was extended to 10 in Belgium.

Red Bull, meanwhile, last finished top of the podium when Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23.

But despite Mercedes and McLaren’s renaissance, Verstappen remains 78 points clear of his closest challenger, Lando Norris, in the drivers’ standings.

Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are respectively 100 and 110 points adrift, while Hamilton trails Verstappen by 128 points.

Red Bull’s lead in the constructors’ championship, however, is far more fragile as the Milton Keynes-based team is only 42 points ahead of McLaren. The Papaya trailed Red Bull by 115 points going into the Miami Grand Prix in May, where Norris secured his maiden Formula 1 win.

Ferrari is 63 points behind Red Bull, while Mercedes trail its rivals by 142 points.

Worryingly for Red Bull, while Verstappen has been scoring points consistently, he’s received little support from Perez, who hasn’t finished on the podium since the sprint race in Miami.