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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton feels Red Bull are going to continue to just breeze past rivals unless they can start closing the gap.
During the first red flag restart of the race, Max Verstappen easily went past Lewis Hamilton in his Red Bull. After that point, the Dutchman went on to set a dominant pace at the front while Lewis competed with Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton's teammate George Russell felt that a potential win was on the cards for Mercedes, if not for his DNF, but the former did not agree with that assertion.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Mercedes driver said that Red Bull were quicker on the straights and even in the corners. He added that until that gap is closed, there is no competition. He said:
“We’ve got a lot of work to do clearly to catch the Red Bull because they came flying past and disappeared. But I think this hopefully gives us a real boost of hope and energy. That it’s so early on in the season yet we’re there are thereabouts kind of so this is a message everyone should just dig deep keep pushing, because it’s not that far away and it’s relatively close to reach. Max is in another league,”
He added:
“His car is so fast, he passed me halfway down the straight and he was several metres ahead, like 10 metres ahead [before the corner], but I don’t know how they’re so quick on the straight – it’s just insane. So they’re just in another league and until we pick up speed on the straight like they have, and have the crazy downforce that they have through the corners, that’s how it’s going to continue."
The battle is with Fernando: Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton admitted that his battle was with Fernando Alonso in the race because Max Verstappen is in a different league. He said:
“But I think for the others, I think if we continue to work together, we can definitely fight the Ferraris and the Red Bulls. The battle is really with Fernando right now. I enjoyed racing with him, it was very reminiscent of my first race here in 2007.”
Lewis Hamilton secured his first podium of the season with Mercedes at the 2023 Australian GP.
