Hamilton can still win an 8th F1 title, but Max is closing in, warns Alonso

Fernando Alonso believes Lewis Hamilton can still win an eighth world championship, but he has warned that Max Verstappen is ready to break the British driver's records.

Hamilton will head into Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix on a 30-race losing streak following Mercedes' failure to provide him with a winning machine.

He is already 75 points behind Max Verstappen in the standings, with the Dutchman on course to secure his third world title in as many years.

Hamilton, 38, said he was "counting down the days" until the arrival of the Mercedes' upgrade, but following its debut at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, he admitted here in Spain that the new design had not provided him with the step forward he was hoping for.

He also revealed it would be a "long process" to dethrone Verstappen's dominant Red Bull team.

Winning an eighth

However, in an interview with the PA news agency, Alonso, who at 41 is the only driver older than Hamilton on the grid, said: "Lewis will be in contention for the eighth title.

"I don't know if that will be next year or in the future, but he will have another chance of winning the championship, that is for sure.

"Mercedes are a very strong team, and Lewis is a very strong driver. He doesn't forget how to drive from one season to the next.

"The Mercedes car is not an easy one to drive, and it is not a fast car, but you see every weekend that Lewis is always there - fourth, fifth, fourth, and he was second in Australia. He is driving on top of the car."

Verstappen and Spain

Hamilton's rival, Verstappen, claimed his maiden Formula 1 win on his Red Bull debut in Spain seven years ago.

On Sunday, a fifth victory of the year would put him on 40 victories in his career, leaving him just one shy of Ayrton Senna's