MADRID, 12 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
British driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) believes that they will not compete “for victories” at the start of the Formula 1 World Championship, assuring that they are currently “not” “the fastest” and that people “could be surprised” when the championship begins next week at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“It’s too early to have those kinds of thoughts about the World Championship, but at the moment I don’t think we’re competing for wins. I’m sure everyone can see that we’re not the fastest. Ferrari seems to be the fastest, and maybe Red Bull, and then maybe us, or McLaren. Currently we are not at the top,” he said during the last pre-season test in Bahrain, where the Formula 1 season will start in a week.
The 37-year-old English driver finds it difficult to win his eighth title, since the car is “very different from last year’s”. “Not so good,” he said. “We have much bigger challenges and these are not one week changes. They will take a little longer. I’m told we have to find a considerable amount of rhythm,” he warned.
Despite everything, Hamilton considers that there is “potential within the car” to achieve things. “We just have to learn how to extract it and fix the problems, which is what we’re doing. But we have hurdles to overcome. Next week we’ll get a better showing of our pace, but people might be surprised. They tell us we’re disappointing, but this year is a little different,” he stressed.