F1: Lewis Hamilton admits he can’t win unless he has the best car

–by Mark Cipolloni–

After getting schooled all last season by Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton says that his only hope to win in 2023 is for the Red Bulls, Ferraris and Aston Martin’s not to finish.

But wait, the British Media led us to believe he was a racing god when he was winning all those races in his superior Mercedes.

But, but, you mean it was the car all along?

Speaking at Thursday’s Saudi Arabian GP press conference, Hamilton said, “Last year we were very draggy, we were struggling not only on the straights, but we had to take a much bigger wing, and we were equalling if not losing in the corners as well. This year it’s mostly through the corners. Down the streets we’re quick, but on exits these guys have a lot of rear end through the majority of the corners.

“So, I think in the race they weren’t pushing and I think they’re a lot quicker than they even seemed,” he continued. “We have it as them being a second and a half faster in the race per lap or something like that.

“We need these Red Bulls not to finish the race, the Ferraris not to finish the race, and maybe now the Aston Martins not to finish the race, for us to be winning at the moment,” he laughed. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t catch them up.”

“I knew that we weren’t in the right place when you saw the [zero-pod] car for the first time. It looked still so much different to those of our competitors, and it’s always nerve-racking in that moment.

“We’ve got to now start making some bold decisions,” he admitted, “some big moves in order to close the gap to these guys.

“They (Red Bull) will run away with it most likely this year, unless Ferrari can probably stop them, but hopefully at some point during the year we are hopeful we might be able to close the gap.

“At that point, it’ll be probably too late in terms of fighting for a championship, but we could still turn some heads.”