Hamilton: Mercedes in dream position given Ferrari’s pace

Lewis Hamilton admits he ‘could have only dreamed’ of holding a 24-point lead in the Formula 1 world drivers’ championship heading into the summer break and is confident Mercedes can gather momentum over the second half of the season against Ferrari.

Both Hamilton and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have been adamant Ferrari holds a performance edge having found gains from an engine upgrade to pull out a gap in qualifying to match its impressive race pace.

After Sebastian Vettel crashed out of the lead at the German Grand Prix – to see Hamilton claim a dramatic victory – which was followed up by a second consecutive win in Hungary for the Brit, the reigning F1 world champion says fortune has smiled on his team in recent races while he's exploit opportunities when Ferrari has not brought its ‘A game’.

With the summer break taking place for a month before the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August, Hamilton is hopeful his team can use the gap to reenergise and focus on finding further performance to match Ferrari to strengthen his advantage in the F1 standings.

“I really could have only dreamed that we would be in the position that we are in right now, considering all factors and based on our pure performance, where we stand compared to the Ferraris,” Hamilton said. “I’m really happy, going into the break, particularly with back-to-back wins.

“I think that boost will last a long time for our team and it’s encouraging for everyone so I’m excited for the break. It’s tough on everyone so it’s probably going to be good to be able to spend time with family and friends and back off.”

Hamilton also feels with only one track where Mercedes has traditionally struggled for pace against its rivals, Singapore, his team can approach the second half of the F1 campaign with a confident mindset.

“The second half is always exciting, it’s always intense, particularly when we go to the long hauls,” he said. “The Second half usually gets a bit better on our side so we will go and prepare and make sure we come back even stronger.”