Lewis Hamilton admits it will take Mercedes 'rest of year to close gap' on Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that it is going to take Mercedes “the rest of the year to close gap” on reigning champions Red Bull.

Having won six championships through a golden period with Mercedes, Hamilton failed to win a race last year, for the first time in a glittering career.

Neither he nor teammate George Russell managed a podium in this year's season-opening races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso placing third behind both Red Bull drivers each time.

Mercedes have admitted they got their car concept wrong and have gone back to the drawing board as they again play catch up with Max Verstappen and Co.

“If you look at the Red Bull, it is just going to continue to evolve most likely,” said the 38-year-old Briton

“Some cars do plateau in terms of performance. At some point it can't just keep going. But maybe it can.

“They have a great team around them and I am sure they will continue to add downforce.

“We just have to make sure when we do make the change hopefully the drop isn't too far and hopefully it is going to take us the rest of the year for sure to potentially close that gap.”

His teammate George Russell was equally forthright: “I am not going to say we are terribly optimistic,” he said. “We recognise Red Bull are a second down the road at the moment.”

Hamilton went into detail about his main issue with the car that he describes as being a “little bit better” than last year's vehicle which was prone to bouncing.

“I don't know if people know, but we sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers. Our cockpit is too close to the front,” he said.

“When you're driving, you feel like you're sitting on the front wheels, which is one of the worst feelings to feel when you're