Red Bull have dominated the 2023 season, winning 14 of the 15 races so far. The only race that the Milton Keynes outfit have not won this year was last weekend in Singapore. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz produced a masterclass on that occasion as he controlled the race from the outset to clinch his second F1 victory. Even though Red Bull failed to win at Singapore, they could yet seal the championship this weekend at Suzuka. However, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is keen to ensure that his arch-rivals’ celebrations do not begin this soon.
As things stand, Red Bull have a whopping 308-point advantage over second-placed Mercedes. In order to win the championship this weekend, the Milton Keynes outfit need to fulfill two criteria.
First, they need to outscore Mercedes by at least one point at Suzuka. And second, they need to ensure that Ferrari do not outscore them by 24 points or more this weekend.
Hamilton reveals his goals for the remainder of the season
During the press conference at the Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton revealed his goals for the remainder of the 2023 season. The Briton began by stating, “Just like them (Ferrari), we started off pretty poorly at the beginning of the season. Definitely did not expect us to be second in the Constructors and to now be really relatively close in the last couple of races“.
Hamilton then stated that Mercedes, of course, now want to beat Ferrari as much as the Italian outfit intends to beat them in the Constructors’ Championship.
While the 38-year-old is confident of challenging the Ferraris, he is not confident that the Silver Arrows have what it takes to beat Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull to bounce back at Suzuka
Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull to be “phenomenal” at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. He then added in an interview (as quoted by racingnews365.com), “They have been phenomenal all year long with pace at pretty much every circuit and it is going to be great to watch that car in general“.
The Briton then stated that he is only hopeful that Mercedes can be closer to Red Bull and that the Milton Keynes outfit do not pull off as much of a 30-second gap over them. Since Red Bull struggled massively at the Singapore GP last weekend, all eyes will undoubtedly be on them in Japan this weekend to see if the disappointing performance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit was a one-off or not.
