Hamilton doubts F1 title chances
Hamilton doubts F1 title chances
Lewis Hamilton doubts he can beat Sebastian Vettel to the drivers' title if Mercedes are unable to seriously improve their 2018 car. Hamilton took an unlikely victory in Baku last time out to move four points above Vettel at the top of the standings, but he has been largely outperformed by the Ferrari man this year.
A crash with Max Verstappen in Shanghai and poor fortune under the safety car have cost Vettel in the last two grands prix, although three consecutive pole positions suggest that the German is back to his title-winning best.
Although he appears to be in an enviable situation, Hamilton admits he is perhaps not a worthy championship leader and says similar performances will not yield a fifth title come the end of the season.
"I have zero comfortability [in leading]," he said.
READ MORE: Spanish GP Preview
READ MORE: Hamilton wants to design Miami circuit
"Since the last race I have not thought for one second that I am leading the World Championship, it is not in my mind, it is not that it is not important to me, it is just empty at the moment.
"There is a long, long way to go. Imagine if I got excited now knowing that we still have all the problems, it doesn't mean anything. What is important is where you are in the end of the year.
"If this weekend we happen to have got on top of the issues we have with the car and start to be more consistent then I can be a lot happier because I know then I can punch either at my weight or a little bit above my weight.
"But at the moment I am punching below my weight, and that is not sufficient enough to win a World Championship.
"We have been capitalising on circumstances like the outcome of the last race, so I will take it for now but in the long term the team cannot continue to rely on that."
Although acutely aware of the need to improve, Hamilton appeared to forecast that Mercedes will not have a fix in place for the Spanish Grand Prix.
"I can't really expand too much on it, because if we knew it all, we could do it," he said.
"We are constantly working on a solution. The set-up direction, or getting the car set up for the weekend, has been interesting but the underlying factor comes down to how we utilise the tyres.
"People cannot write that I didn't do testing. I did the Pirelli test last year, I did the end of season test, the mid-season test, which I really don't like doing, but the tyres are behaving differently this year.
"There is that and the balance we are having with the tyres is shifting a little bit and from one session to another, we change the car set-up, it does not correlate with what the tyres should do, so it is a moving target that we are struggling to get steady.
"That's really what we are working on and trying on how I can minimise those losses from the set up."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton hints at sensational Newey arrival at Ferrari
- 55 minutes ago
Suspended Red Bull employee 'grilled' as Horner saga given potential END DATE
- 1 hour ago
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
- 2 hours ago
F1 boss HITS BACK at star driver over schedule complaints
- 3 hours ago
F1 2025 Driver Lineup: Big names on the move as half the grid reshuffles for next season
- Today 17:00
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- Today 13:59
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860