01 August 2023 , 13:29
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Lewis Hamilton is expecting to see some "movement" in the second half of the F1 season, with teams now focused on being the 'best of the rest' behind the dominant Red Bull.
Red Bull have won all 12 races so far this year and Max Verstappen is on course to become a three-time world champion, having taken a 125 point lead ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in second place.
Hamilton's Mercedes do currently sit second in the constructor standings, but Aston Martin and Ferrari are not too far behind heading into the summer break. And with F1 pausing briefly, teams will be afforded the chance to improve their cars and Hamilton believes that could lead to some changes in the standings.
"The car, the balance, we've still got to work on and we need more downforce as we always do, but I know everyone in the back of the factory is head down, focused on doing that and massively focused on getting second for the team in the constructors', and trying to get third [in the drivers’ championship] too," he said.
"I don't know how much development people will be doing in the second part of the season, but I think there will be movement. I mean, I don't know what happened to Aston [Martin], they've taken a step back.
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"The McLarens will be strong in the second phase, Ferrari and us, we're all very very close. So depending on the track, I'm sure there'll be some movement of positions for us all."
Hamilton's comments come after Mercedes chief Toto Wolff admitted they are currently working on a complete overhaul of their car for next season and need to make "a lot of changes" to compete with Red Bull.
"We generally have a bigger wing than the Red Bulls but they seem to have more downforce from their floor," he told Sky F1 after the Hungarian Grand Prix. "We have a lot of work to do. I'm like a broken record and have to keep telling the guys 'we need to go in that direction' so I would love to see that either this year or at least on next year's car.
"I think we need a lot of changes for 2024. The direction our team is developing is really quite interesting. We see opportunities and we're not shying away of leaving no stone unturned, looking at every single concept.
"Like every single concept that we have seen on other cars - whether that is powerful or not - [we are looking] whether this is of any use to us without letting ourselves be distracted from the way we operate, the way we analyse…going to come out good."