Lewis Hamilton has moved past his frustration over Red Bull’s extraordinary pace, acknowledging that it is highly probable they will win every race this season.
Red Bull extended their winning streak at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen securing his eighth consecutive victory and equalling Ayrton Senna’s Formula 1 race win tally.
Although Hamilton’s Mercedes team has made progress with their B-spec W14, bringing him closer to the race-winning Red Bull RB19 than before, the 38-year-old accepts the reality of Red Bull’s dominant form.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Hamilton expressed: “Beyond. It’s not a frustration anymore, if it ever was.
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“You know how it is, and you know what you’re faced with, and there’s nothing I can do about their amazing performance.
“It’s likely that they will win every race, moving forwards, this year unless the Astons and us put a lot more performance on the cars or their car doesn’t finish.”
Hamilton acknowledged that the regulations and budget caps hinder Mercedes and other competitors from closing the performance gap.
He noted the challenge of finding the same level of performance advantage within the limitations imposed by the regulations.
Despite this, Hamilton emphasised that he does not feel frustrated by the situation.
While Hamilton secured his second consecutive podium finish, trailing Verstappen by 14 seconds and finishing five seconds behind second-placed Fernando Alonso, he expressed his hope for a more competitive season reminiscent of 2021’s thrilling battles.
Hamilton stated: “I’m happy to firstly be back in the mix, and I’m just hoping at some stage we can have it all a little bit more level so we can get back to some of the good races we had back in 2021.
“And to have all three of us in a super-tight battle would be sick.”
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Hamilton acknowledged that Mercedes still has a long way to go before challenging Red Bull for race wins and the World Championship title.
He highlighted the need to add rear downforce and improve overall efficiency in their car.
However, he remains optimistic about their progress, stating: “I do believe we will get there at some stage. Max was a little bit gone, but I think our pace is a little bit closer today, so we are going in the right direction.”