Hamilton fears Red Bull is catching Mercedes
- Published on 25 Aug 2019 13:00
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- By: Coilin Higgins
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has spoke of his fears that rival team Red Bull is closing the gap to the Silver Arrows, thanks to the recent form of Max Verstappen and the new Red Bull-Honda partnership.
The Red Bull team switched to Honda power units from long time suppliers Renault for the 2019 season and has since been constantly on form as the second best team thanks to the efforts and results of Verstappen in recent races.
“Time will tell. I think(Verstappen's) done a great job and they have clearly done a great job in quite a few of the races now,” Hamilton said. “Nevertheless, I think we need to just focus on ourselves and not be distracted by focusing on others."
Verstappen and Red Bull have edged really close to Mercedes in recent races, with Verstappen taking a second win of the season in Germany and his first F1 pole position in Hungary.
Hamilton dueled hard all race for the win with Verstappen in Hungary but could not find a way around the Dutchman, prompting a late risky pit stop for Hamilton for fresh tyres which eventually saw him wrestle the lead from the Red Bull with four laps to go.
Red Bull are just 44 points behind second-placed Ferrari in the constructors championship coming into the second half of the season, and also have an new driver pairing coming into the next race at Spa, with Toro Rosso youngster Alex Albon replacing Pierre Gasly from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards.
“It’s easier to catch up than it is to stay ahead, to be the leader in many different aspects. But it’s great to see them progressing." Hamilton said.
“We want the competition so we’ll be ready for the fight whatever the case.”
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Replies (6)
Login to replyRam Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Hmmm... Interesting spin on what Hamster said. "I think we need to just focus on ourselves and not be distracted by focusing on others." And, “We want the competition so we’ll be ready for the fight whatever the case.” Doesn't sound like he's afraid at all to me.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
He isn't. This is very typical Merc' and Hammy talk. "Oh no, they are sure having us served now! Woe me, what on earth are we to do?!". That kinda talk is stuff they've been pulling for years at this rate, and it's so old you could serve it as a Danish cheese.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
I kind of see it more as journalistic liberties as I don't see him talking about his fears at all as the article suggests.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
We genuinely have three contenders for race wins and Hamilton remains top dog - Ive been watching him since he started in F1 and he doesn't yet have a peer in terms of all round package - though the others are closing, Max uppermost. Ive said it before, it will be a Max era once Hamilton retires, can he grab 7 titles?
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
It might be but Max hasn't has as good of a start in his first few years as Ham and his maturity level on and off track is just coming around to what Ham's was his second season, so nope, I don't see it.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Hamilton and Verstappen are quite similar, both talented in multiple areas. It's all about gaining advantage and putting yourself in a winning position. He's right about the notion of its easier catch up than stay to in front. However Mercedes has had the better PU over the last couple of years and wasn't willing to share this unit with any team that had the potential of beating them.
All of Hamilton wins in F1 are done with use of the Mercedes PU could we see him switch to another supplier? Verstappens wins were far harder in the sense of him not having the better PU versus Hamilton.
Him acknowledging of the fact that RBH are gaining on Mercedes is not a bad thing however it will not stop RBR and Honda from desire of beating Mercedes on pure performance nor will it destabilise Verstappen.
There seems to be a lot of mutual respect between Verstappen and Hamilton which isn't a bad thing.