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Hamilton believes F1's midfield will be closer to top in 2019

Hamilton believes F1's "midfield" will be closer to top in 2019

04-03-2019 12:29
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Bobby Vincent

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton believes the "midfield teams" in Formula 1 will be closer to the top of the grid for the upcoming season.

The five-time and reigning world champion Hamilton believes the difference between the sides could be as little as half-a-second.

Last season's top three Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have dominated the top of the grid for the past six seasons in F1 - with no other team winning a race since the beginning of 2013.

However, despite the comfort the top three usually have, Hamilton believes the gap may have been cut and he also thinks Ferrari and Red Bull will give Mercedes more of a run in 2019.

"No, I think it is the three teams (in contention at the front), but also the teams at the back have closed up as far as I'm aware," Hamilton said to Crash.net. "The whole pack has closed up.

"I don't know which team is fourth currently, but they are a lot closer than they were before. There was like a second-gap before but now they are within half-a-second, or maybe less, which is awesome.

"So depending on how their development is during the year and whether they have the capacity to develop as quickly as the top three teams will be the question, but it will be exciting.

"Maybe we will see some races where Renault or the Racing Point will be a lot higher than they were in the past."

The likes of McLaren, Renault, Haas, Alfa Romeo, Racing Point and Toro Rosso usually battle for the "best of the rest" status - could Williams join their battle in 2019?