"There was a potential for a win" - Lewis Hamilton feels Mercedes 'can start to fight with the guys' at Red Bull and Ferrari after 2022 F1 Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton felt there was a chance of winning the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP. The Mercedes driver had his qualifying compromised when he suffered from a DRS issue in Q3. As a result, he started the race in P7 while his teammate, George Russell, was able to secure his first-ever pole position in F1.

Speaking to the media in the post-race conference, Lewis Hamilton was questioned if he felt he could win a race this season. The Mercedes driver was hopeful that it could happen and admitted there was potential for the team to win the race this weekend:

"I think, this weekend, there was a potential for a win. You saw George [Russell] on pole. I think if we had both been up there, I think we probably could have worked a bit better together as a team. One of us would have had to support each other strategy-wise."

Lewis Hamilton was, however, still pragmatic enough to point out that Red Bull were arguably stronger in the race. Despite Max Verstappen spinning out, he still managed to finish 10 seconds ahead of the Briton:

"This is the first time we've been able to fight and battle with a Ferrari. That's huge for us. I think the Red Bulls probably still are ahead. The fact that Max started 11th and spun and still was 10 seconds ahead says enough about their car, but I think we still have made huge progress and huge steps."

Lewis Hamilton: Our car worked well in cooler temperatures

Recapping the race, Lewis Hamilton admitted that he was struggling early on. Nonetheless, he got more comfortable as the Grand Prix progressed, which helped him work through the field to ultimately finish in P2. The driver also felt that the cooler temperatures worked in Mercedes' favor over the weekend:

"I was struggling at the beginning of the race and wasn't sure whether I'd be able to catch up so I'm happy I was able to recover from P7. I had a good start, which was crucial and, bit by bit, I felt more comfortable with the balance of the car. The cooler temperatures in qualifying and the race seemed to work well for us."

The Mercedes driver has now scored a podium in five consecutive races, performing at a very high level.