Lewis Hamilton makes 'concerning' admission about Max Verstappen dominance

Lewis Hamilton hasn’t won a race since Saudi Arabia 2021 (Photo: Getty)

Sir Lewis Hamilton admits he’s uncertain whether he and Mercedes can rival Max Verstappen and Red Bull for the Formula One title next season.

Verstappen cruised to a record-extending 19th win of 2023 at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

Starting from pole, no one came close to the three-time champion who crossed the finishing line nearly 18 seconds ahead of second-place Charles Leclerc, capping off the most dominant season in history.

The RB19 was far clear of the rest of the grid at the start of the season and remained in that position throughout the year, despite rivals continuing to develop and upgrade their machinery, winning 21 of 22 races.

Of course, 2024 is a different year, and drivers and fans will be praying for a more competitive and open fight for the title.

But Hamilton, who trundled home to ninth at Yas Marina, didn’t appear confident that his team would be closing the gap over the winter break.

Asked if he took any satisfaction from Mercedes finishing second in the constructors’ championship ahead of Ferrari, the seven-time champion bluntly replied: ‘Not particularly.’

Hamilton finished P9 at the Abu Dhabi GP (Photo: Getty)

The British driver still hasn’t tasted victory since the end of the 2021 campaign and admitted he was content to just ‘survive’ another disappointing season, even though he finished third and best of the rest in the standings.

Asked what he could take from 2023, he replied: ‘Not too much. It’s not been a great year in general. The fact I survived it. Probably that’s about it.’

And on whether Mercedes could challenge Red Bull in 2024, he glumly added: ‘At this moment, I don’t really know. For Red Bull to win by 18 seconds and they haven’t developed their car since August is definitely a concern.

‘We have learned a lot about the car and it’s just down to the team now. They know what they need to do. Whether or not we will get there, we will see.’

‘Let’s be honest they [Red Bull] have a gap because they got well out of the blocks with the new regulations and in order to catch up, that’s a monumental endeavour… hopefully they level off with their development and speed and we can catch up,’ Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added.

‘Our [2023] car is a fundamental problem, it’s not stable, the derivers have no confidence in the car, if we can dial that out, we can make a step forward like other teams have done.’

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