Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is not deterred even a bit with Red Bull emerging as title contenders this season. The seven-time champion revealed that he will not be changing any part of his approach in taking on Red Bull and rival Verstappen.
The Briton has managed to win every title ever since 2016 by a minimum of 45 points. He lost to Nico Rosberg by five points in 2016. In the following two seasons, he beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton said that the emerging threat from Red Bull will not in any way change his thinking on the situation.
“Nothing changes for us; we approach every weekend in exactly the same way we have,” said Hamilton on Thursday in Imola.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“I think we have had multiple battles with Ferrari, with Seb when he was at Ferrari, and we just have got to keep our heads down.
“We do what we do, we love the challenge and as I said, it’s exciting for us that we do have such a challenge on our hands and it’s not one that we shy away from.”
Hamilton won in Bahrain by less than a tenth of a second over pole-sitter Verstappen. He said he was surprised with the pace of his Mercedes.
“Firstly, I genuinely had a positive feeling with the result and a good reflection about the weekend; it was a very difficult weekend for us.
“I think it was clear that Red Bull have started off really, really well, with a great package, and Max Verstappen’s driving really well.
“It’s set up for a good season ahead. Of course, we don’t know what to expect going forward into the next races with different temperatures and track surfaces but it’s going to be fun, one way or another.”
The British driver also hopes to provide fans with a thrilling fight this season to beat the pandemic blues around the world.
“I hope it’s exciting for fans and I hope it is all that it’s cracked up to be,” he said.
“Particularly for fans at this difficult time we need the best entertainment… we just want to be fighting with the best drivers and as close as possible, so that we can hopefully try to eke out more than our competitors to get the results.”
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