Champion concedes Red Bull challenger has ‘clearly the stronger car’
Ace vows to keep pushing in final four races looks to Brazil to try to consolidate his advantage
hmercedes
Lewis Hamilton appeared to concede Max Verstappen was now the favourite to win this year’s drivers’ crown after watching his young rival sail off into the distance at yesterday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who finished 16 seconds behind Verstappen in second place, conceded afterwards that the Dutchman now had “clearly the stronger car” and that all he could do was to “leave no stone unturned” and see where that left him.
Verstappen’s ninth win of the season gave the Red Bull driver a 19-point lead with four races of the season remaining.
With a total of 107 points up for grabs, the race is by no means over. But the manner of Red Bull’s win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was emphatic, and with the next race in Brazil also expected to favour Red Bull, the momentum is now definitely with the 24-year-old chasing his maiden title.
Hamilton put on a brave face, but conceded he had limited weapons at his disposal. “Firstly, congratulations to Max,” Hamilton said. “Their car was far superior this weekend and there was nothing we could do about it. I gave it everything.
“I’ve got four races to go and we just have to keep pushing. I don’t know where their performance came from today but they were half a second quicker per lap. They clearly have the stronger car. All I can do is try to make sure we leave no stone unturned and try to maximise what we have.”
Asked about the pressure he came under late on from home favourite Sergio Perez, Hamilton said: “The pressure I’ve had many times before. It was easy to hold on. But it just shows how fast their car is, that he was able to follow that closely and stay so close behind me. But I really enjoyed it.
“I started second and finished second so I can’t complain. I feel I maximised what I had. There was nothing I could do.”
Verstappen said he was not getting carried away. “It’s still a long way to go. It’s looking good but it can turn around very quickly. But I’m looking forward to Brazil which also holds happy memories for me.”
His team principal, Christian Horner, said that the mood in the
Red Bull camp was as good as it has ever been at the end of a weekend in which they wobbled slightly in qualifying on Saturday, only to turn it on again in the race, when a bumper crowd of more than 100,000 got behind their drivers.
Horner said he was particularly pleased for designer Adrian Newey, who joined Red Bull’s drivers on the podium. “It was great to see Adrian up there today. It’s 30 years since his first victory here in Mexico. It’s probably the best team spirit we’ve ever had.
“There’s still a long way to go. There are still a lot of points available and we have to maximise every weekend. But you could see what it means to the whole team.”