KEY POINTS

  • Max Verstappen claimed an easy victory at the Styrian Grand Prix
  • It was his fourth win in the F1 2021 season
  • He leads Hamilton by 18 points in the F1 2021 championship

Lewis Hamilton admitted Mercedes have got "no answer" to Red Bull’s pace after losing to their rivals in the fourth consecutive race in the ongoing F1 season.

Championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull led from lights to flag as he claimed a third victory in as many as four races. He has 156 points -- 18 points more than reigning champion Hamilton. Overall, it was Verstappen’s fourth victory in eight races in F1 2021.

"I was trying to keep up but the speed they have, they've obviously made some big improvements over the last couple of races. It's impossible to keep up. I did say it [Red Bull's pace advantage] was around a quarter of a second, I think it was probably that on average at least - even three or four-tenths," Hamilton told Sky Sports after the race in Austria.

If not ahead, Mercedes looked on level with Red Bull last weekend in France. However, Mercedes’ W12 car had “no answer” to championship-leading Red Bull’s RB16B around the fast Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria.

"It was pretty impressive speed that they had. There was nothing I could do; I was giving it absolutely everything. I don't know really where they were gaining all that speed, I think it was everywhere in general, but particularly on the straights as far as I'm aware. They've definitely made some big steps the last couple of races and we've not really got an answer for it."

Max Verstappen pulls off the win in France (June, 20, 2020)
Max Verstappen has won two consecutive races in F1 2021: France and Styrian Grand Prix. Photo by Nicolas Tucat - Pool/Getty Images

Reb Bull’s straight-line speed was earlier boosted when they launched fresh versions of their 2021 Honda engine two races ago in Baku.

"We've not brought any upgrades; I don't remember the last time we had an upgrade. But they have. They've brought the engine upgrade and they've brought some other part of the package and it's just eeked them ahead. Whilst there's a really long way to go, with speed like that we've not really got much that we can do. I don't know, we've just got to keep pushing. I've got confidence in the team we'll somehow find something. We need an upgrade of some sort. We need to find some performance from somewhere," added Hamilton.

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