Mercedes Behind Ferrari, But Can Still Win 2018 Title, Hamilton Says

Lewis Hamilton admitted Mercedes have fallen behind their main title rivals Ferrari in the last couple of races, but is confident the Silver arrows team can turn it around and get back to winning ways.

After winning back-to-back races in Azerbaijan and Spain, Hamilton took a 17-point lead in the Formula 1 Drivers’ championship over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel heading into the Monaco GP on May 27. The British driver finished third in the Principality, one place behind his title rival, which reduced the gap to 14-points heading to Canada for the seventh race of the 21-race campaign.

Mercedes were unable to run their upgraded engine as planned due to a quality issue, while Ferrari brought a new power unit for Vettel’s car. After struggling during practice Friday, the German qualified on pole — his fourth of the season — and then cruised to victory on Sunday, while Hamilton could only manage a fifth place finish.

The Mercedes driver was grateful after revealing he feared a potential engine failure, but he gave up his lead in the championship, which is now headed by Vettel, who is one point ahead of his rival. Hamilton admits they have fallen behind in the last two races, but has backed his team to push harder in the upcoming races to ensure they are challenging for wins on a consistent basis.

Ferrari have now taken the chequered flag on three occasions with Mercedes and Red Bull winning two apiece. And despite the Italian outfit having a better overall package as seen during the first seven races, Hamilton is confident Mercedes have a car capable of winning the title yet again in 2018.

“I'm sure the next couple of days it will get more and more painful because ultimately it was a poor weekend, but it could be a lot worse. I could have had a DNF and lost 25 points,” Hamilton said, as quoted on Sky Sports.

“However, in the two races we have lost 18 points so we have definitely fallen behind a little bit in that respect. … I think we've got potential in this car and when you guys are writing your stories, I think last year there was 'oh, Mercedes have the best car' and all those different things, but ultimately I think we did the better job,” the Briton added. “You probably shouldn't be writing that right now because we're not always outperforming the others, but also it's very close.”

“The Red Bulls are every now and then are in the mix, Ferrari have been, I would say, the most consistent, but there are a lot of races to come,” Hamilton said. “These engines have to go a long way, that's going to make things happen and that's why I'm really grateful for this one.”

Mercedes will have upgraded engines on both their cars when the F1 juggernaut arrives at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France for the next race June 24. Despite it being an untested circuit for all teams, it is likely to suit the Silver Arrows team more than the others.