Hamilton agrees with Leclerc: 'Tough task to close gap with Red Bull'

Lewis Hamilton is rumoured to be renewing his contract at Mercedes at any moment. The Briton is still searching for an eighth world title, but with the dominance shown by Max Verstappen in the RB19, that seems to be difficult for now. Leclerc said earlier today that he thinks it will be difficult to get close to Red Bull. Hamilton also commented to GPblog and others on the matter.

It is undoubtedly painful for Hamilton: in 2021, he was just one lap away from a record-breaking eighth world title, and now he may see Verstappen take his third world title in a row in dominant fashion. Despite that, Mercedes now holds second position in the constructors' championship, and they are regularly on the podium.

On Leclerc's earlier comment, Hamilton responded, "Well we don't have a rule change coming up. So I hope that’s not the case. But the fact is they are ahead and most likely have started developing next year's car months before everybody else because they're 200 points ahead in the championship. So it's very very possible that Charles would be right. But we're working on the steep gradient trying to develop and get ourselves to close the gap. Whether or not we can next year will be proof within that. I hope we can."