Hamilton fears for Verstappen: 'You never know his real speed'

Lewis Hamilton experienced a fierce battle with Max Verstappen last season, but things are different this race year. While the Dutchman is on his way to his second world title with a lead of more than 100 points, Hamilton is sixth in the world championship. This season, the Briton hopes to get another win, although this will be difficult.

Mercedes struggled to keep up with the top teams at the beginning of the season. Over the course of the year, however, the racing stable managed to recover, leaving George Russell and Hamilton better able to put up a fight. As yet, it did not result in a win at a Grand Prix.

Toto Wolff's team has already expressed on several occasions that it would like to win another race in 2022, showing its progress. With six race weekends still to go, Hamilton's hopes are also starting to wane, he told Formule1.nl.

"We need a lot of luck for that," stated Hamilton, who remains hopeful. "It is not impossible. We could have beaten them in Budapest. But he (Verstappen, ed.) is generally cool up front, so you never know his real speed. So we'll see."