"We are clearly closing the gap" - Lewis Hamilton lauds 'pretty special' Mercedes after P2 finish at 2022 F1 Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton was surprised with the pace of his Mercedes W13 after claiming an unfancied P2 at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP.

The Briton started the race in P7 on the medium tires and was able to ease past the Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon while also making easy work of Lando Norris' McLaren on the opening lap.

Mercedes was caught out by an undercut from eventual race winner Max Verstappen in its opening stint. However, the Silver Arrows made the correct strategy call for Lewis Hamilton by avoiding the hard tires at the Hungaroring.

The seven-time world champion went onto the red-walled soft tires for his final stint and it paid off, as lewis Hamilton was able to pass Carlos Sainz and his teammate George Russell to come home in second place. Hamilton's cause was no doubt aided by Ferrari botching its strategy calls yet again.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1's David Coulthard in Parc-Ferme after the race, a jubilant Lewis Hamilton was asked where he found the pace after struggling for much of the weekend at the Hungaroring. The Briton said:

“I honestly don’t know. I was definitely struggling at the beginning of the race and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to catch the guys up but bit by bit, I got a bit more comfortable with the balance and had a really good start as well.’’

Hamilton went on to laud his team for all their efforts, saying:

“I really want to acknowledge my team who have continued to push and never given up in this tough year we’ve had so far. For us, to be on the podium, for both cars to be on the podium twice, it is pretty special for us and really unlucky for George [Russell] today.’’

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Lewis Hamilton hoping Mercedes can bridge gap to leaders with more upgrades after summer break

Despite Mercedes' second consecutive double podium finish of the season, Lewis Hamilton is under no illusions with regard to the gap between them and Red Bull and Ferrari.

Hamilton may have shown speed that caught many by surprise, however, the German team was 7.8 seconds off Max Verstappen's pace at the top when the checkered flag fell.

When asked to elaborate on the pace advantage Mercedes' rivals have over the Silver Arrows this season by David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton said:

“The others guys still have a bit of an edge but we are clearly closing the gap and this is just an amazing way to go into the break knowing that we have this performance. Hopefully we can bring some more into the second part of the season and starting fighting with the guys up front.”

When asked if he felt the cooler conditions on Saturday and Sunday helped Mercedes' chances compared to the relentless heat in Friday's practice session, the 37-year-old said:

“I did think the cooler weather seemed to work better for us. I can’t tell you exactly why but grateful for it. I was hoping it was going to rain at the end so I could challenge Max [Verstappen] but we ran out of laps. If we had had a bit of a better qualifying yesterday, if the DRS was ok we would have been in the run for the win but two seconds in a row I am really, really happy.”

Heading into the summer break, Hamilton admitted he plans to regroup and return hungry for more at the 2022 F1 Belgian GP three weeks from now.

Following the result at the Hungaroring, Lewis Hamilton is P6 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 146 points after 13 rounds of racing