Lewis Hamilton opted to reference 2002 movie Austin Powers in Goldmember, when asked about whether leading the field is easy for 2021 rival Max Verstappen.
Since the start of the new aerodynamic regulations in 2022, Hamilton has had to watch Verstappen’s dominance from a distance, with Mercedes not being in a position to challenge Red Bull.
Verstappen alone has won 25 of the last 34 races, whereas Hamilton hasn’t won once.
The seven-time World Champion’s most recent win continues to be the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where himself and the Dutchman collided multiple times.
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Verstappen has actually had to overtake Hamilton at the last two races, with the Mercedes driver having started ahead of the Dutchman.
Hamilton put up little fight on both occasions though, due to Red Bull’s superior car.
Red Bull’s star driver is currently on an eight-race winning streak, which doesn’t look set to end anytime soon.
He already leads the championship by 125 points, with him set to become a three-time World Champion imminently.
When asked about Verstappen’s current obliteration of the field though, Hamilton broke out the Austin Powers reference.
“What do you want me to say? I haven’t spoken to him,” Hamilton said.
“He is having a smoke and a pancake. You know the film?”
Whilst Red Bull have been dominating, Mercedes have been slowly improving.
The Silver Arrows have definitely improved since they introduced their new concept in Monaco, something Hamilton agrees with.
However, the 38-year-old does admit that the W14 is in desperate need of “more downforce”.
“We’ve been making big steps,” Hamilton said. “I think our biggest step we took was when we got to Monaco and the car has really progressed.
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“Better understanding of where to position your car, it’s been a lot more consistent, more podiums or top-five finishes and generally getting solid reliability.
“So there’s lots and lots of good bits, but the car balance we’ve still got to work on and we need more downforce as we always do.”
Mercedes will be keen to make more progress in the second half of the season, to help them claim second in the Constructors’ Championship.