Lewis Hamilton on why he can’t beat Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the Hungarian GP, having claimed eight wins at the event.

Ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has admitted that his “driving ability” isn’t enough to bridge Mercedes’ deficit to Red Bull, which has been substantial for the last 18 months.

The Silver Arrows have struggled since the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations, whereas Red Bull have thrived.

Things are starting to look better for Mercedes though, since they introduced their new concept.

The Germans scrapped their ‘zero-sidepod’ philosophy at the Monaco Grand Prix for an approach more similar to Red Bull, with Hamilton having claimed three podiums since the W14’s concept was changed.

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Whilst Mercedes’ new concept was a huge upgrade, the side are still nowhere near Red Bull, with developing the new complicated cars being a long process.

“The thing we can’t see is the airflow throughout the car,” Hamilton explained, as reported by RaceFans.net.

“They’re limited when you look in the wind tunnel, there’s only a certain amount you can move the car.

“There’s simulations, with the new rules that we have, all the new tools that we’ve had to create to understand the flow structures underneath the car and all vortices would blow your mind if you saw what’s happening underneath the car, which is a lot different to the previous generations of cars. Working through that just takes time.”

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Hamilton heads to the Hungaroring as the circuit’s most successful driver, with him having won the Hungarian GP eight times.

A ninth victory is likely not on the cards this weekend though, due to Mercedes not being as strong as Red Bull.

Hamilton is hopeful though, that the Silver Arrows “will be closer” to the Austrians, given that he not only loves the track but that it was a good venue for the team last season.

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“I’m always trying to rely on my driving ability to make up for the deficit but it’s not been ultimately enough in a lot of places,” Hamilton said.

“But this has been a strong circuit for me and I think last year it was a strong circuit for us. If you look at the last race for some reason we seem to be very – you may not have seen it – but we were equal in time until turn 13 to Max on a qualifying lap. Or George was, for example.

“And then we just lose performance in the high-speed after that. So given that this is more medium and low-speed, I’m hoping it will be closer.”