Lewis Hamilton said securing his first podium of the year in Barcelona has relit the fire in his belly after a dismal start to the season.
The seven-time F1 champion is suffering the worst year of his career and sits eighth in the drivers' standings. After the first eight races of the season, the best Grand Prix result he had to show for his efforts was sixth place.
But then he finished fourth in Canada earlier this month after Mercedes upgraded their cars, and he followed that up with a first podium in 12 attempts last weekend in Spain. Reflecting on the end of that barren run, Hamilton said: "It feels good to have races like that.
"Sometimes you don't get to have a race like that where you get to get your elbows out and have some really fun and challenging overtakes. But that was a really good, fun one for me. Barcelona always puts up a good race. And it's been a strong one for me for many years.
"We all need good days like that in our lives just to remind us that it's still there. So the fire is definitely there. We just need to continue to supply it and keep it blazing." Hamilton feels there is now a "great energy" within the team after recent progress - but admits there is still work to do before Mercedes can beat the likes of Red Bull and McLaren.
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And because this weekend's race in Austria is using the Sprint format, meaning teams get just one practice session to fine-tune their cars, Hamilton admits he is worried about how the event will unfold.
The 39-year-old said: "Our car is generally not being quick out of the box, it's something we always have to tune and work on. But Montreal is quick out of the box, maybe it was a one-off, we'll see tomorrow. But I like the Sprint weekends, it doesn't give you a lot of time to adjust."
Hamilton hopes to continue to take the fight to Verstappen (Icon Sport via Getty Images)Mercedes have yet to decide who will take Hamilton's place when he leaves for Ferrari at the end of the season. Teenage starlet Andrea Kimi Antonelli is being lined up for the spot, but team boss Toto Wolff continues to hold onto the slim hope that Max Verstappen will quit Red Bull.
But, asked again about his future, the Dutchman gave the clearest indication yet that he has no interest in a switch for the 2025 season. Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028 and has showed no sign thus far that he wants to walk away from that deal.
He said: "I have a long contract with the team, I'm very happy where I'm at and we are focusing also already on next year with things that we can implement on the car. So I guess that should say enough of where I'm driving next year."
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