---
title: "Hamilton: Mercedes losing a quarter of a second to Red Bull in Austria"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2021/06/26/hamilton-mercedes-losing-a-quarter-of-a-second-to-red-bull-in-austria/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Hamilton Lyndon-Griffiths"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2021-06-26T15:11:18Z"
modified: "2021-06-26T15:11:20Z"
---

# Hamilton: Mercedes losing a quarter of a second to Red Bull in Austria

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes is losing a quarter of a second to Red Bull around the Red Bull Ring, leaving him doubtful they have the “raw pace” to win on merit.

Hamilton is currently on a three-race losing streak after claiming back-to-back victories at the Portuguese and Spanish Grand Prix’s earlier this season.

The Briton struggled to match Max Verstappen’s pace in Friday’s two practice sessions, but fought back in FP3 to top the timesheets.

But Verstappen produced two flying laps in Q3 that were ultimately good enough to secure pole position, finishing two-tenths clear of the field.

Hamilton qualified third despite a mistake on his final run but is promoted to the front row after Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas’ three-place grid penalty.

Speaking after qualifying, Hamilton was unsure Mercedes was capable of fighting Red Bull over a race distance.

“They’ve been so fast this weekend, so we have been giving it absolutely everything,” Hamilton said.

“It wasn’t the greatest of sessions but, nonetheless, we’re still on the front row after the penalty so we’re going to race tomorrow for a fight.

“They generally have a quarter of a second on us all weekend. And I think we’ve managed to eke closer in qualifying, but in race trim yesterday, they were one quarter of a second ahead of us most of the time.

“It’ll be interesting to see whether or not we can manage it. I don’t think we have raw pace to overtake them, that’s for sure. But might just be able to keep up.”

Mercedes is hoping to end its winless run, with the Brackley-based outfit having never gone four consecutive races without a victory in the V6 hybrid era.

Hamilton goes into Sunday aiming to overturn a 12-point deficit to Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, hoping to repeat his win in Austria last year.

“I will be giving it everything, obviously, but I am just talking about pure pace,” Hamilton said.

“But maybe tomorrow, we’ll be surprised. Maybe it rains. Who knows?”