Hamilton 5th in Austria as Ferrari suffer reality check after Spain win

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George Russell wins for Mercedes; Ferraris 5th and 8th

Hamilton says: ‘We have a good car but are down on pace’

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s underwhelming performance at the Austrian Grand Prix represented a reality check for him and the team after the euphoria of his first win with the Scuderia at the last round in Spain.

Hamilton finished in fifth at the Red Bull Ring, after a race where Mercedes’s George Russell took victory from pole position ahead an enormously quick Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull had made great strides with upgrades the team brought to Austria. Hamilton had moved to second in the championship after the last round and was looking so competitive that he was being touted as a potential title contender, but he has dropped back to third, behind Russell and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader.

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