Lewis Hamilton has revealed Mercedes has big problems with their car overhearing in the Austrian Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passed Charles Leclerc with two laps remaining to win. It brings to an end Mercedes' run of eight consecutive wins this season - a run that actually stretches back two races further, to last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.
The F1 Champion could only manage a fifth-place finish in the sweltering hear at the picturesque circuit.
Hamilton said: “
I don't feel like I have to write off the weekend. I got fifth, and I got points, so we just move on.”
Hamilton admitted the overheating was a ‘massive issue’ for Mercedes in Austria.
The F1 world champion added: "
As far as I'm aware, it wasn't an issue for the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, but for us it certainly was a massive issue. We had a good pace today, but we just couldn't race, so that's how this track reveals a limitation of our car.”
Valtteri Bottas agreed with his Mercedes team-mate.
“It was difficult,” he said. “We suffered a lot with overheating today of our power units, the amount of lift-and-coast we had to do to keep the temperatures low. It was getting pretty difficult to drive, and that’s why I couldn’t really attack, couldn’t really defend that well. It was a bit of a survival game, so in that sense, really pleased to be on the podium, but for sure, a weekend we need to learn from. We had no chance to fight for the win today.”