Lewis Hamilton admits concern with Red Bull dominance

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has expressed concern over Red Bull’s continued dominance and questioned whether Mercedes could close the gap next year after the Formula 1 season ends in Abu Dhabi on Sunday .

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed a record 19th victory in 22 Grands Prix and his 21st podium of the year, as his team closed out the most dominant campaign, winning all but one race.

The manner in which the Dutch driver took the season-final victory did little to reassure those hoping for closer competition in 2024, with Verstappen 17.993 seconds clear of Ferrari runner-up Charles Leclerc.

The once-dominant Mercedes finished second in the constructors’ championship, but with less than half the points scored by Red Bull.

“It hasn’t been a good year. There’s not much to take from the year in general,” Hamilton told Sky Sports after finishing ninth with teammate George Russell third.

“The fact that I survived it is probably everything.

“At the moment I don’t really know,” he added when asked if he thought Mercedes could compete with next year’s car.

“That Red Bull won by 17 seconds in the end and they haven’t even developed their car since August is definitely a concern.

“But we’ve learned a lot about the car and it’s now up to the team. They know what they have to do. Whether we succeed or not, we’ll see.”

Team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff seemed more optimistic, even though Mercedes finished a season without a win for the first time since 2011.

“Today it feels like you won and it’s great. We have to be happy about it, but also as a driver you want more, but today we won,” he said. he declared about the battle with Ferrari for second place in the general classification.

“We have a gap compared to the leaders, but both [Mercedes] teams in Brackley and Brixworth [engines] We’re so motivated, we have so many good things in the works, so many new things.

“I’m in a really good position to see what happens. We need to take our momentum from here and pass that momentum on to the factories.”