Lewis Hamilton gets boost in time for British Grand Prix as Mercedes confirm car upgrades

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will benefit from upgrades to their Mercedes cars at the upcoming British Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows have failed to challenge for race wins this season as their cars cannot match the Red Bulls or Ferraris for performance. Hamilton and Russell have still found some strong results, even when dealing with some extreme porpoising at times – such as in Baku where they finished third and fourth despite heavy bouncing.

They repeated the trick at the Canadian Grand Prix, after raising the ride height of their cars to avoid another beating on the bumpy Montreal track. And now they are hoping to build on that and make even further progress with upgrades to the W13 in time for both drivers' home race.

"One thing you can be sure of is we will push as hard as we can," said Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott. "We will be bringing new bits to Silverstone, we will be trying to push the car forward, trying to get some pace from the car we've got or from the package we've got as well as the new bits we are going to add to it."

But he was still keen to manage expectations heading into the 10th race of the season. "I think at the same time though we have to be honest with ourselves and say that at the moment we are just a little bit behind those front runners in Ferrari and Red Bull. And in a normal race I think it is going to be tough," Elliott added.

Lewis Hamilton should have a better car to drive at the British Grand Prix (Getty Images)

Silverstone is a bona-fide race track, offering a different test for teams after several races on street circuits. Mercedes feel that it will suit them better, encouraged by their strong performance the last time they raced at a conventional track at the Spanish Grand Prix.

"I think Silverstone will be a circuit that suits us a little bit better, like Barcelona did, but maybe it will be just a little bit difficult. Whatever happens we will push as hard as we can," Elliott said.

"Our drivers will push as hard as we can because we want to get back to winning. We want to win for the team, we definitely want to win and we want to win for you, the fans, so let's see what happens."