Hamilton issues warning to Red Bull and Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton has issued a warning to title rival Max Verstappen by claiming he has "no doubts" Mercedes will take another step forward in the second half of this F1 season.

Mercedes and Hamilton lead both championships after Red Bull suffered a disastrous two races preceding the summer break in the closest battle between two teams in the turbo-hybrid era.

Ahead of the calendar's resumption at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, Hamilton was asked if he felt Mercedes had bounced back from early struggles to which he replied: "Yeah I think so, we definitely upped our game.

"We have also, just even during this break, taken the time to reflect and look at where we have been and where we are going.

"I have no doubts we will take another step forward in our processes and how we apply ourselves so it has been a really positive thing to see."

Mercedes battle with rivals a "better dynamic"

This is the first time at Mercedes since 2013 that Hamilton has been involved in a title battle that looks set to go the distance with a rival from another team.

On whether he had to dig deeper during an inter-team battle as opposed to an intra-team title fight, Hamilton insisted: "It's exactly the same if I am really honest, whether you are fighting a team-mate or another team I would say, in terms of how much you need to dig.

"It is a different journey you go on. When it is internal, the journey you go on with a smaller group of people within your own team as opposed to a whole team fighting another team, is a much better dynamic and a much more enjoyable journey of progress.

"From a driver's point of view, it is pretty much the same."

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