F1 news: Lewis Hamilton warns Mercedes are simply not quick enough to catch Max Verstappen

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Lewis Hamilton has warned his Mercedes is currently not quick enough to match Max Verstappen in the race to the 2021 title.

Verstappen passed his championship rival at the start of yesterday’s Mexican Grand Prix and was never under threat for the duration of the race to stretch his lead in the drivers’ standings to 19 points.

Hamilton said the onus was on him to win Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix but admitted he might not even get close.

“I naturally feel I need to be winning every race because we need those extra points,” he said. “But they’re just too quick so we’re giving it absolutely everything we’ve got but, unfortunately, it’s not enough at the moment to compete with them.”

Hamilton limited the damage by keeping Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez at bay to take second place while Valtteri Bottas took the solitary point on offer for the race’s fastest lap.

The Briton was not ready to concede defeat in the title race but said: “I think today with their superior speed, if they were to carry that into the next ones then we may be in trouble or we will be in trouble. We’ll find out when we get there [to Brazil] but I hope we’re closer.

“They have the faster car but all I can do is try to squeeze everything out of mine and make sure we don’t leave any stone unturned and give it my all. I have got four races to go and I have to keep pushing.”

Having bounced back from a poor qualifying session when race favourites Red Bull lost out to Mercedes, Verstappen refused to get carried away by the margin of his lead in a championship which has ebbed and flowed.

He said: “There is a long way to go. It’s of course looking good but also it can turn around very quickly. I don’t believe in momentum. It’s going to be really tight and exciting to the end.”

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