24 August 2023 , 15:13
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Lewis Hamilton admitted Max Verstappen "might win everything" as he and George Russell declared second place this season would be "a huge achievement" for Mercedes.
Red Bull have won all 12 races to date in 2023, while home hero Verstappen is bidding for nine victories in a row at the Dutch Grand Prix. That would see him match the record for most consecutive race victories, currently held by Sebastian Vettel.
"There is a high chance that he'll win every race," Hamilton told reporters at Zandvoort on Thursday. "But I'm hopeful that we can challenge them at some point, whether it's this weekend or who knows where. If there are any mistakes or any mishaps, we will be right there to capitalise on it. He hasn't made any and Red Bull haven't made many this year. They might win everything, but later on in the year we'll get closer, maybe."
The paddock was doused in rain on Thursday with more wet weather potentially on the way this weekend. Hamilton believes more rain would create the best possible opportunity for him to finally end Verstappen's streak.
"I think the wet weather would definitely spice things up," he said. "At Spa, which is not a strong circuit for us, when it rained we were performing quite well. I'm hoping that's the case again this weekend if it is wet... I'm hoping that we're closer and within shooting range of a podium this weekend."
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Mercedes are well-placed for second place in the championship this season, something which the seven-time world champion feels "has been overlooked". And team-mate Russell agrees, feeling that the team has made the best out of the situation it is in.
Asked by Mirror Sport if Mercedes is in a position to win if Red Bull fail, Russell said: "As a team we've gone from strength to strength this season. Of course, there was a lot of expectation placed upon us this season and that's why people are calling our season a failure.
"We're far from where we want to be because we want to be fighting for the championship. But to call P2 in the championship, 50 points ahead of P3 at the moment, a failure is far from the reality. We know we've got a lot to improve and we've made a lot of really good progress, so hopefully we can be there to pick up any pieces that fall our way.
"We just never know. Last year we had the mentality that Singapore would be our only opportunity in the second half of the season to win a race, and when we didn't win there was some disappointment. There was no expectation going into Brazil and we came away with the victory there. So we'll treat every race as an opportunity.
"It's really close between us, Aston Martin, Ferrari and McLaren at the moment. I think we're probably the ones who are consistently there as the second or third fastest team. The team has done a really good job to maximise points and deliver week in, week out. I'm not going to sit here and say, 'We are the second fastest team'. But we are in a really strong position to secure that P2."