Lewis Hamilton issues a “nowhere near” warning to Red Bull following the “shock” Mercedes 1-2

Lewis Hamilton issues a “nowhere near” warning to Red Bull following the “shock” Mercedes 1-2.

 

 

Mercedes surprised everyone by finishing first and second in the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton cautioned that their race pace is “nowhere near” that of Red Bull.

 

The first day of F1 2024 track action raised some doubts about Red Bull’s perceived pace advantage, despite the fact that reigning three-time World Champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team enter the competition as heavy favorites to win another double title.

 

Mercedes was the best as the floodlights came on for FP2, producing conditions similar to those in qualifying and the race. Hamilton led a one-two, several tenths ahead of teammate George Russell, while Verstappen had to settle for P6, less than half a second behind Hamilton.

 

Despite Mercedes’s heroics, Lewis Hamilton is extremely cautious around Red Bull.

We’ll find out in the last qualifying round’s Q3 round whether Red Bull is holding back on unleashing the RB20’s actual performance, or if this “shock” Mercedes one-two was only a warm-up for something equally spectacular in just one lap.

 

In any case, Hamilton thinks Red Bull still has a distinct advantage over the others when it comes to performance over a race distance.

 

Hamilton said to Sky F1, “FP1, we were surprised, it was very very windy this morning, so I think it was a really difficult session for everyone.” “Compared to last week, the track was completely different.

 

It felt good, but we weren’t sure where we stood with the C2 tire. Then, in this [FP2] session, the vehicle did better than it had in the previous one.

 

We’ll accept it for the time being, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s shocking to see where we are. In order to try and extract more, we must remain focused and continue to work on the setup.

 

“We have some work to do there because, for example, our long-run pace is nowhere near the Red Bulls’ and I think we were much closer.”

 

When asked if he could theoretically close the gap with Red Bull, Hamilton replied that he could, but that would depend on how well he understood the Mercedes W15.

 

Nevertheless, Hamilton feels Mercedes is in the “best of the rest” race with teams like Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin, even though he believes Verstappen can pull off his signature disappearing act ahead of the race on Grand Prix Saturday if he can escape any early hold-ups.

 

Hamilton responded, “I do,” when asked if he knew how to catch up to Red Bull. “I’m not sure if getting a new car will help me do that.

 

“You have all new tools when you buy a new car. You’re learning an entirely new vocabulary when it comes to the car setup because everything has been redone and all of the prior numbers and titles for things have been completely shifted. We’ll have to wait and see because we just got a day and a half to test some of them. We haven’t tested all of them.

 

“I’m hoping we can move forward. I have a vague notion, but as of right now, I’m not sure how to implement it with setup adjustments without also altering the single-lap aspect of things.

 

“I believe we will be involved. Although it’s still a little early to tell, I believe Ferrari, Aston, and McLaren are right on track. We’re near those folks, so I’m not sure precisely where we stand with them, but it will end in a beautiful combat with us.

 

“Max will probably veer off, as he has been doing for the past few years, if he is in the lead,”

 

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Hamilton confirmed he is “much happier” with Mercedes’ most recent invention, the W15, but he had very nothing positive to say about the company’s past opponents in the ground effect era.

 

He declared, “I’m much happier with the car this year.” “I can now feel the car approaching curves better because I’m now seated further back.

 

It just feels like a race car for once, whereas the previous two vehicles didn’t feel that way. However, there are other things that have been rectified and improved.

 

“Therefore, we have a great platform to work on; all we need to do is keep working hard and pursuing it.”

 

Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, has not won in a lengthy period of Formula 1 competition. His last podium finish was in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021.