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LONDON. — Lewis Hamilton fears he will finish the season without a single victory for the first time in his Formula One career.
The seven-times world champion has at least one victory in his previous 15 years in the sport.
However, his below-bar Mercedes — plus the speed of world champion Max Verstappen, who Hamilton says is “almost unbeatable” — means he is looking at extending his winless run.
Hamilton said: “We have to be realistic. That Red Bull is almost unbeatable. It’s going to take some real doing to beat that car.
“Performance-wise we have not caught them, and we don’t have upgrades coming to enable us to overtake them. So it’s going to take some fortune going our way to win.
“It’s not impossible, because we could have beaten them in Budapest.
“But Max is generally chilled at the front, so you can never tell their true pace.”
Verstappen is in scintillating form and has won the last five races.
The most recent, controversially passing the chequered flag behind the safety car at Monza on Sunday, means he can clinch the title next out in Singapore if results go his way.
The Dutchman needs to win and take the bonus point for the fastest lap — plus see Leclerc is no higher than eighth, and team-mate Sergio Perez out of the top three.
And he says his phenomenal season is like his final year in go-karts in 2013 when he won the world and European karting titles.
He said: “It is very different in terms of feelings. At that moment, Formula One is your goal.
“Of course, you enjoy what you achieve, but you also think that there is still a long way to go so it feels different.
“But the last year in karting was also beautiful.” — The Sun.
Online Reporter