Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ dominance to start the 2020 season means it is “not the championship fight I hoped for”.
The German manufacturer has won all four races so far, with the Briton claiming the last three, as the Mercedes W11 has proved to be a class above its rivals produced by Red Bull and Ferrari.
As a result, it means Hamilton’s only real competition for this year’s world title is teammate Valtteri Bottas.
But after sharing the podium with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc last weekend at Silverstone, Lewis admitted his frustration at their inability to join Mercedes at the front.
“I’m a through and through racer at heart,” he said.
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“I’ve grown up, particularly when you’re in karting, you’ve got the wheel-to-wheel racing, that’s what has always excited me, and that’s what gets me up in the morning.
“This is not the championship fight I would have hoped for. I’d much, much prefer to be having a super-close battle with these two here because that’s what gets me going.
“I’m still putting in the laps that are required but it’s not a close battle with Max in qualifying and the same with Charles. I really, really hope that in future it’s closer.”
With little change in the regulations and limits on development, few expect anyone to challenge Mercedes now before 2022, when all new cars are introduced.
And Hamilton says the emphasis is on the sport’s bosses to produce rules that promote closer racing.
“Ultimately every team is given rules and at the end of the day we’ve just done an exceptional job collectively and you can’t fault my team for that. That’s not our fault,” he said.
“You have to look at the people that run the sport doing a better job moving forwards.
“I think they’re showing some signs… I think Ross [Brawn] is showing us a car for the future that’s going to have us all closer.
“Hopefully it’s not as slow as a GP2 car, and then hopefully we’ll get some more karting-like races in the future.”
