Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is adamant that Mercedes will not be able to compete for wins at the start of the 2022 season, insisting the F1 world champions are facing ...

"I was quite surprised to be fighting with Lewis for a couple of laps," Gasly said. I think Ferrari look to be the quickest and perhaps Red Bull and then maybe us or McLaren - but we're currently not at the top." It's not going to look as good as it did last year with the difficult session we had in practice and then switch over to the race. "I think everyone is struggling out on this bumpy track. "There is potential within our car to get us there. Lewis Hamilton is adamant that Mercedes will not be able to compete for wins at the start of the 2022 season, insisting the F1 world champions are facing "big challenges" and trailing Ferrari and Red Bull for pace.

The Briton finished the final morning's pre-season testing in Bahrain three seconds off the pace, with Red Bull seemingly having won the early arms race.

We just have to learn to extract it and fix the problems, which is what we are doing. I'm told we have a considerable amount of pace to find. We have far bigger challenges and they are not one-week turnarounds. 'I'm sure everyone can figure out that we are not the quickest. Following the biggest overhaul to the regulations in nearly a decade, Hamilton added: 'It feels a lot different from last year. Lewis Hamilton revealed he is fearful he won't be in contention for the world championship

The pair's stormy rivalry looks certain to take off again next week as the new F1 season gets under way in Bahrain.

“Of course he was happy but I travelled with him to the airport and it was all about the next race, the next and the next.” But if Verstappen must weather another fearsome deluge from Mercedes, there is no doubt at Red Bull he will only thrive in what F1 hopes will be the exhilaration and drama of a perfect storm. The car will be crucial and with the new designs from new regulations, Bahrain will be the first real chance to see if one team has stolen an advantage. If he has the car this year then we are in for something special.” “When he says: ‘If you think you have seen the best of me then wait until this year, you haven’t seen anything yet,’ that’s a big statement and not said in a flippant way. In Hungary, he finished ninth after his car took a battering in a first corner incident and he retired in Baku, Silverstone and Monza. The last of those was a salutary lesson of what that unnecessary aggression can cost. The way he dealt with that was exemplary.” “In Zandvoort, the expectation was so high, I have never seen so much pressure on the grid,” he says. “Yes, Max was delighted to win his home race, but there was no crowdsurfing,” he says. “He has no interest in selling himself, he is a very private guy,” says his Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner. “He loves what he does, fame can often sit uncomfortably with him. By the close Hamilton felt hard done by with the decisions in Abu Dhabi that cost him a record eighth title, but Verstappen has been adamant his performances across the season more than earned him the championship. Hamilton’s pedigree is well known: at 37 he is the most successful F1 driver of all time.

Hamilton was downbeat on his chances of a record eighth title following the final day of testing in Bahrain, suggesting that Ferrari and Red Bull have the ...

“We have far bigger challenges and they are not one-week turnarounds. “We are not the quickest. “It’s too early to have those kind of thoughts about the world championship but at the moment I don’t think we will be competing for wins,” he said.

Lewis Hamilton doubts he will be in the running for victory at the opening round of the new Formula One season next weekend in Bahrain.

The sudden change in downforce acting on the car means it starts bouncing up and down on its suspension along the straights, which is referred to as porpoising. That's what we are working on and everyone is doing an incredible job back at the factory working as hard as they can, but we have some hurdles to overcome. Mercedes' simulation data from its factory suggests there is a lot of untapped performance in the package, but issues with the balance of the car has made it difficult to access its true potential.

The Briton had looked set to win the championship after building a comprehensive lead in the desert. But the race was thrown wide open in the latter stages ...

Max Verstappen has cast doubt over whether Lewis Hamilton can win a record eighth F1 world title this season after tipping Ferrari as the new team to beat. Verstappen then found himself in the auspicious position of being allowed to pull level with his rival for a one-lap shootout when the race eventually restarted. “It‘s difficult to say,” he continued. “Ferrari also look strong this year, at least now in the tests. “At the end, it was an easy decision,” Verstappen added. Some teams still get some upgrades before the first race.”

The 37-year-old has been off the pace in pre-season testing as he bids for a record-breaking eighth Formula One title.

“We need to be cautious. We just have to learn to extract it and fix the problems which is what we are doing. But we have hurdles to overcome. I am told we have a considerable amount of pace to find. “We have far bigger challenges and they are not one-week turnarounds. “I am sure everyone can figure out that we are not the quickest.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton played down his chances of starting the Formula One season with a win and said on Saturday his Mercedes lacked a ...

"I think we have far bigger challenges this time," he said. "Next week we'll get a much better showing of our pace but I think people will be surprised, maybe. we have some hurdles to overcome.