Lewis Hamilton is hoping predictions for rain and thunderstorms prove accurate during the upcoming German Grand Prix weekend.

Friday is expected to see the final day of the current heatwave which has swept across Europe, bringing with it record temperatures in many countries, including Germany.

As cooler air works in, however, there is a chance Formula 1 could finally have its first wet qualifying and race of the season on Saturday and Sunday.

While the lower temperatures in themselves might be enough for Mercedes to have a sigh of relief, Hamilton is still concerned about a repeat of the cooling issues from Austria.

“It is definitely a good thing if it rains. There is not much we can do, it is a much bigger design issue when it gets hot which is not so easy to change,” Hamilton said on Thursday at Hockenheim.

“We are working towards it, but it is very small steps and small increments which are not making a massive difference.

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“Hopefully this weekend it will be okay in that sense, but if it stays this hot we are going to struggle and be in trouble.

“And if the next race is this hot we are going to be in trouble and on the edge as we were in Austria but fingers crossed the weather comes in.”

Across the garage, however, Valtteri Bottas was a little more relaxed, revealing aerodynamic improvements go beyond just cooling.

"We have some new bits for the cooling and also a quite nice new aero package that should give some more performance to the car," he said to Crash.net.

“We’ll see as we go but for me, there is only one goal for the weekend and that is to try and win the race.

“I like that mindset that it’s never enough. If we have an advantage, a gap, we want more, we want a bigger gap.

“That’s how we’re all tuned in this team, it’s the winning mentality and I just wish everything works as it should because I’m sure every team is also pushing very hard and bringing new bits all the time.”