Hamilton fears Red Bull’s dominant F1 car won't hit ‘plateau’

Red Bull have made a flying start to 2023 by winning the opening three races of the season, recording one-two finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. 

Their RB19 challenger has been the class of the field and despite their penalty for breaching the F1 cost cap in 2021, Red Bull have shown little sign of slowing down so far. 

Hamilton claimed Mercedes’ first podium of the season at the Australian Grand Prix as he finished second to his great rival Max Verstappen, who at times was lapping a second quicker than the rest of the field. 

Although Hamilton acknowleged Red Bull’s performance could hit a plateau, the seven-time world champion would not be surprised to see the reigning world champions continue to find improvements. 

"I'm aware that it could take a long time to catch a car. If you look at the Red Bull, it's just going to continue to evolve most likely," Hamilton said.

"Although some cars do plateau in terms of performance, when you get to some point, it can't just keep going. But maybe it can.

"They've got a great team around them, so I'm sure they'll continue to add downforce.

"We've got to make sure when we do make the change, hopefully the job isn't too far and it's going to take us the rest of the year for sure to potentially close that gap.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed his team are planning to bring “consistent” upgrades for their troubled W14 in the coming races as they strive to cut their deficit to Red Bull. 

Despite Wolff warning there will be “no magic bullet that transforms the car”, Hamilton remains optimistic about Mercedes’ development capabilities. 

"There's a part of me that's just hopeful that we find the trick and we're straight onto the right track that's not far away from the others," he said.  

"We've shown in the past that we can develop quickly, and I hope that that's the case as the potential of the car opens up.

"The guys can go full steam ahead in that direction. I'm grateful that they are open to making a shift and not being stuck with what we have."