Hamilton has one hand on the title – rivals
Following Mercedes’ insurmountable form at the opening four grands prix in the 2020 F1 season, rivals claim that no one will be able to pose a threat to Lewis Hamilton due to his dominant W11.
Lewis Hamilton could match Michael Schumacher’s record for most championship titles if he can wrap up his seventh title at the end of the 2020. While Red Bull was keen to make the Briton’s life difficult, the energy drink-owned team has failed to win a single race so far. Mercedes’ W11 was over a second faster than Red Bull’s RB16 in the qualifying session for the Hungarian and the British Grands Prix, a deficit not experienced in the sport in recent times.
When asked whether Hamilton could be stopped with his field-leading Mercedes from clinching another title, Verstappen said: „No.”
The Dutchman said that he sees no chance for the situation to change.“The gap is so big, c’mon! Maybe you find a tenth, or one-and-a-half, OK we are a bit closer – but it’s not close enough. I’m trying but it’s not possible at the moment.
„You have to be realistic. I mean you can dream, and you can hope but I think it’s way more important to be realistic because that’s how you move forward. If you keep dreaming about those chances, it’s not going to happen. We just have to keep working.”
For the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Pirelli will supply the teams with the trio of C2, C3 and C4 compounds that will represent a one-step softer range compared to the one used at the British Grand Prix. Despite the change, the eight-time race winner does not „think it will change a lot.”
“I think everybody will probably end up doing a two-stop strategy but also for me, I don’t think there will be a lot of changes to the way I will be driving. So I’ll probably be counting some sheep next to the track.”
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc agreed with Verstappen, indicating that no one can stop the Briton due to his dominant Mercedes W11.
“The question is ‘can anybody stop Lewis?’ No. I think the guy that has some chances is Valtteri – but that’s it,” said the Monégasque.
Carlos Sainz who will swap his McLaren racing car to a Ferrari race machine next year went a step further with his predictions, claiming that no one will be able to stop Mercedes before 2022 due to the development freeze.
“Right now it’s difficult for everyone, whether it’s Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault or Racing Point to fight for the world championship with the dominance of this year and in 2021, the cars will be practically the same. It’s just common sense that until 2022 it will be very difficult to beat Mercedes,” said the Spaniard.
