Lewis Hamilton 'hopeful' Mercedes will soon return to winning ways - just not in Austria

Lewis Hamilton has faith he will win a race in his troublesome Mercedes this season — just not at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

After a grim first half of the year, the seven-time world champion arrives in Spielberg for Sunday's race confident his car is finally showing its potential.

Last weekend's British Grand Prix extended his winless run to 11 races, the longest in his standout career that has seen him top the podium on 103 occasions.

But third-placed Hamilton was almost as happy as if he, and not Carlos Sainz, had taken the chequered flag after his Mercedes at last battled shoulder to shoulder with the Red Bulls and Ferraris.

This was a massive improvement on the under-performing machine shackled by bouncing, or porpoising, as Mercedes grappled with the radical new design regulations brought in this term to produce closer racing.

The problem grew so bad in Azerbaijan, that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff apologised to Hamilton over the team radio as arguably the best driver ever to grace the sport had to be helped out of the car his back was so shaken up by the bouncing over Baku's streets.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix - in pictures

Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates finishing first in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit on June 12, 2022. Getty
Race winner Max Verstappen is congratulated on the podium by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President. Getty
Verstappen celebrates in parc ferme. Getty
Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit on June 12, 2022. AFP
Race winner Max Verstappen greeted by his team. Getty
Smoke pours from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahed of his retirement. Getty
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. EPA
Lewis Hamilton and Emirati Mohammed Bin Sulayem, President of FIA, ahead of the race. EPA

With updates before Barcelona and Silverstone working their magic, the second half of the season is looking a lot more enticing.

"Yes, there was a long way back. Earlier this year, I definitely wasn't sure we would ever get a win in this car," Hamilton told a press conference on Thursday.

"Obviously that's not the way we like to think, but there was a feeling that 'Jesus, there's a long, long way we have to catch everyone', knowing the progress that everyone makes."

The last two races have given cause for the hope that "we're moving in the right direction," he added.

"With a little bit more digging and a little bit more hard work, hopefully we can get a bit closer to having a chance at winning a race.

It would be quite a time to get off the mark for the season at the 11th attempt at the circuit owned by world champion Max Verstappen's Red Bull team.

But as pleasing as that would be, Hamilton acknowledges the chocolate-box venue in the Styrian mountains has rarely been a happy hunting ground.

"I think we've always struggled in Austria, so it's going to be hard to win here, I think, knowing the combination of the corners - but not impossible."

Lewis Hamilton 'hopeful' Mercedes will soon return to winning ways - just not in Austria

After a grim first half of the year, the seven-time world champion arrives in Spielberg for Sunday's race confident his car is finally showing its potential

Azerbaijan Grand Prix - in pictures

F1 drivers' standings