Martin Brundle believes that Lewis Hamilton is the firm favorite to win the Formula 1 Championship ahead of Max Verstappen this year.
Hamilton put in a stellar performance at last week’s Sao Paolo GP. The Mercedes car looked unstoppable in terms of pace and the Briton raced against all odds to take home the win.
Sky Sports pundit and former F1 driver Martin Brundle feels that he is almost “unbeatable” at the moment.
Due to DRS infringements, Hamilton was disqualified from the Qualifying session. As a result, he started the Sprint race from 20th but overtook 15 cars in 24 laps to finish 5th. Subsequently, he faced another grid penalty because he changed his internal combustion engine.
Lewis won the race on Sunday after starting 10th but found himself in 3rd position after just 3 laps and managed to overtake title rival Verstappen on lap 59. The Dutchman did his best to hold him off but both Hamilton and his W12 looked unstoppable on the day.
Also read: Former F1 driver thinks Max Verstappen compromised his performance by being too defensive at Turn 1
Red Bull’s power has been diminished by recent upgrades made by Mercedes, says Brundle
Red Bull looked like the stronger team in Mexico City 2 weeks ago. But the pace, the Silver Arrows showed at Interlagos will have the Milton-Keynes based team extremely worried as the remaining circuits are expected to suit cars with a greater straight line speed.
“With effectively three new circuits to close out the season, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Both expecting high top speeds. And given the power degradation with mileage which Merc have been suffering this season, it made sense.” he said.
“Climbing the long hill up to turn one in Interlagos. Followed by the downhill run to turn four has always been one of the easier overtaking combinations in F1 over the decades.” “Honda’s power advantage at altitude circuits has been diminished to an extent this season with some turbocharger changes by Mercedes.”
Also read: Michael Masi denies Red Bull favouritism accusations made by Toto Wolff
“But a fresh motor and whatever secret Mercedes have found with their reduced drag and high maximum speeds have made Hamilton pretty much unbeatable. Despite everything.” Brundle concluded.
Max Verstappen is 14 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Formula 1 makes its debut in Qatar this weekend when the lights go out the Losail International Circuit.
