Lewis Hamilton has revealed he fears the 2023 season could already be over, with Red Bull having a clear performance advantage over the rest of the field.
The Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have won all three races of the season so far, with the Dutchman having taken victory in Bahrain and Australia and the Mexican winning the race around Jeddah.
Even with the penalty being imposed on them by the FIA for breaching the cost cap in 2021, Red Bull’s RB19 appears to be in a league of its own, with Hamilton believing that any impact later in the season will come too late to change the title race.
“I’m aware that it could take a long time to catch a car. If you look at the Red Bull, it’s just going to continue to evolve most likely,” Hamilton said.
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“Although some cars do plateau in terms of performance, when you get to some point, it can’t just keep going. But maybe it can.
“They’ve got a great team around them, so I’m sure they’ll continue to add downforce.
“We’ve got to make sure when we do make the change, hopefully the job isn’t too far and it’s going to take us the rest of the year for sure to potentially close that gap.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently revealed the team’s upgrades roadmap, with the extended April break having allowed them to return to the factory to hone their performance.
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“There’s a part of me that’s just hopeful that we find the trick and we’re straight onto the right track that’s not far away from the others,” Hamilton explained.
“We’ve shown in the past that we can develop quickly, and I hope that that’s the case as the potential of the car opens up.
“The guys can go full steam ahead in that direction. I’m grateful that they are open to making a shift and not being stuck with what we have.”