Hamilton: Ferrari aren't bringing their A game

Lewis Hamilton claimed Ferrari have struggled to bring their "A game" in recent races, opening the door for Mercedes to take over as leaders in both the drivers' and constructors' championships. Hamilton moved 24 points clear of Sebastian Vettel by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, a race the Scuderia had been expected to win.

Vettel looked the man to beat across the practice sessions, but wet weather - as in Germany a week prior - turned the tide in Hamilton's favour.

The reigning champion qualified on pole in the wet and then delivered a flawless drive in baking race conditions, with Vettel only able to salvage second from fourth on the grid as traffic and a poor pit-stop prevented him from challenging for P1 with an off-set strategy.

Comparing his 2017 title win to the current campaign, Hamilton said: "Last year we felt like we were a little bit stronger than we were compared to this year.

"This year we all know that Ferrari really do have the upper hand pace-wise.

"To win a championship is not just about speed, it's about how you manage things, the strategy calls you make, mistakes, all these different things all weigh up.

Game. Set. Match. @LewisHamilton cleans up in Budapest...#HungarianGP ???????? #F1pic.twitter.com/3fNjOVjiU6 — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 29, 2018

"I think, as a whole, we have hopefully done a slightly better job up until now.

"So, we've got work to do, we've got things to improve, we've got performance to bring moving forwards.

"We've got to try and catch them – but we've got to continue to keep rising with all the other elements, which allows us to beat the Ferraris when they don't bring their A game."

Vettel seemed to side with much of Hamilton's point, taking heart from the improved performance shown by the red cars this year.

"Compared to last year, we lost the championship I think because our car wasn't quick enough to be a match in the final part of the season, despite what happened with the DNFs.

"This year has shown so far that our car is more efficient, our car is stronger and still has a lot of potential to unleash – so I'm quite confident with what's sitting in the pipeline that we can improve."