Hamilton: Red Bull are just quicker

Hamilton started second but had no answer to the speed of Verstappen, who looked comfortable from the very first corner onwards.

The seven-time world champion has now gone four races since his last victory, with his Dutch title rival picking up three race wins in that time frame.

Asked after the race how he could respond to an in-form Verstappen, Hamilton admitted that the team need to find "some performance from somewhere".

"They're faster, they're just faster," he said. "There's not a lot I can do in that respect.

"I've just got to keep trying to do the best I can do each weekend.

"We need to find some performance, we need an upgrade of some sort, we need to push. I don't know whether it's just the rear wing or whether it's the upgrade in the engine, but we've got to find some performance from somewhere."

Red Bull and Verstappen have been strong at the Red Bull Ring in recent seasons and will be favourites once again when Formula 1 returns to the circuit next week for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Asked to identify where Mercedes are losing out to the Milton Keynes outfit, Hamilton said that Red Bull appeared to have a straight line speed advantage.

"I don't know where we're losing all the time but I think their long run looks to be a bit better," he added.

"We lose a lot down the straights. We got good points as a team today and we need to keep pushing.