Hamilton: I need to raise the bar

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has said he needs to raise the level of his driving at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, admitting he cannot afford to make mistakes like the one he made over the weekend in Belgium.

Hamilton finished fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix, but believes he could have been in contention for victory if he had not crashed off the track at the end of the final practice session. The accident left his car with significant damage, forcing the team to replace a number of parts before qualifying.

His teammate Charles Leclerc qualified ahead of him and finished ahead of the Briton for the second race in a row, taking advantage of the virtual safety car to finish second, just two seconds behind winner Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton said he was encouraged by Ferrari's progress, which was competitive at both Silverstone and Belgium.

"I think we can continue at a good pace. This weekend was a bit of an unlucky one, as was Silverstone. It's great to see how much progress we're making and how we're constantly improving the car. We have more innovations that should help us close the gap further," said Hamilton, as reported by Sky Sport.

The seven-time world champion stressed that he was most disappointed with his own performance on Saturday.

"I can't afford weekends like this when it comes to my driving. That's why I'll raise my concentration level and be even more focused from the next race," said Hamilton.

Despite being penalized five seconds for a collision with George Russell on the first lap of the race in Belgium, Hamilton's fourth place retakes second place in the drivers' standings. After 14 races, he is 45 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will be held at the Hungaroring, a track where Hamilton holds the record with eight wins, and where he won his last Formula 1 pole position in 2023.