Hamilton impressed by Red Bull-Honda's progress

Lewis Hamilton says it is “fantastic” to have seen Red Bull and engine partner Honda make so much progress through the 2019 Formula 1 season, allowing it to battle with Mercedes at the front of the field in recent races.

After starting the year as the third-fastest team firmly behind both Mercedes and Ferrari, Red Bull has since made a big step forward, taking its first victory since linking up with Honda at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.

Max Verstappen tasted further success in Germany, and enjoyed a close battle with Hamilton for victory at the Hungaroring ahead of the summer break.

Hamilton was full of praise for the recent strides made by Red Bull and Honda following his fight with Verstappen.

“It’s really fantastic to see Red Bull’s progress,” Hamilton said when asked by Crash.net about his tussle with Verstappen.

“We’re in a period of time, particularly this track has been a track that they’ve always been particularly fast in previous years, and it’s really awesome for Honda as well, to see their progression.

“They’ve got a lot of power in that engine. The Red Bull was quicker than us on a single lap, and we thought we were relatively level in the race, but we were just able to keep up with them and match their times.

“I think it’s going to continue for the races to come. Even the faster circuits - the engine’s going to be great in Monza, so hopefully we’ll see this battle continue for the rest of the season.

“And, fingers crossed, Ferrari also will take a step back towards us at some point over the next races.”