Lewis Hamilton explains why Mercedes 'counts' on Red Bull and Ferrari amid title charge

Lewis Hamilton has claimed Mercedes are still relying on Red Bull and Ferrari to secure podium finishes in a worrying admission for the Silver Arrows. The seven-time champion says the team still needs Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz to retire and make it into the top three despite the team's progress.

The Mercedes star stressed that it shows the team still has "a lot of work to do" in the second half of the season. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton said: "I can't say we've turned a corner, we've been around for ages and we're making slow progress.

"Silverstone was a great fight and we had great consistency. In the last race, we looked like we took a step back from the others or they took another step forward. So, on a single lap, [we] had a deficit of almost a second.

“But our race pace is a bit better than our qualifying pace and our reliability has been outstanding. It was very positive. We also relied a lot on the others not finishing and I think that overshadows the fact that we have a lot of work to do."

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton declares love to Sebastian Vettel after retirement

Hamilton has scored five podiums this season, but almost all of them have come at the expense of one of either Red Bull or Ferrari. In Bahrain, Red Bull suffered a double retirement in the closing stages which deprived Verstappen of second place.

Leclerc was unable to challenge near the front due to a grid penalty in Canada where Hamilton took third place. Verstappen was forced down the field after recovering early at Silverstone where Hamilton secured third place ahead of the home fans at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton's next podium came in Austria after taking advantage of Sainz's late engine burst. Then in France, the Mercedes star took advantage of Sainz's penalty on Saturday and Leclerc's fall to move into the top two.

DON'T MISS Sebastian Vettel issues departure warning to Verstappen and Hamilton [INSIGHT]Lando Norris explains why he's following Lewis Hamilton's lead [ANALYSIS]Ferrari plans to 'protest' FIA rule that Hamilton and Russell will love [COMMENT]

Similarly, George Russell picked up three podiums solely due to reliability issues for other riders. He clinched P3 in Australia after Verstappen suffered a blowout and in Spain after Leclerc was sent off.

The Monegasque driver suffered a similar problem a few weeks later in Azerbaijan, where Russell also obtained P3. However, Hamilton appeared to suggest Mercedes were making progress with their package ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

He added: "I'm enjoying it more just because I'm getting to a much better place with the balance of the car and a much better place with the set-up. Bono and the rest of the guys are definitely a bit happier to work with the car."