F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton Makes Red Bull Admission After Losing French GP

F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton admitted Sunday that Red Bull are "just too quick" at present as Mercedes have to improve after losing to Max Verstappen in the French Grand Prix.

The top two drivers of the underway F1 2021 season switched positions four times before Verstappen eventually overtook Hamilton in the penultimate lap to cross the chequered flag ahead of the world champion at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. The Red Bull driver, who executed the two-stop strategy smoothly, now leads Hamilton by 12 points.

In a post-race interview Sunday, Hamilton said there were many positives to take from the French Grand Prix as he did everything he could and didn’t really make mistakes.

"I think there are lots of positives to take from today so I'm not necessarily seeing it as a tough day. I did everything I could out there today. I didn't really make any mistakes, and generally happy with the position and result, but of course, it would be nice to win," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

The seven-time F1 champion went on to say that Red Bull took a "big step this weekend" and Mercedes are certainly behind them in pace.

"But those guys are just too quick now. They have taken a big step this weekend. We are losing three and a half tenths just on the straights, so I think they have made some sort of improvement. We've got to figure out whether it's just the rear wing or the engine. Either way, we've got to improve, " added Hamilton after finishing second in the French GP.

Hamilton, who started the race second to Verstappen on the grid managed to claim the lead when the latter ran wide after Turn Two.

Photo: POOL / GONZALO FUENTES

"If he hadn't made a mistake in the beginning, the result would have been the same. The only reason we had the position is because he made a mistake and I managed to just about stay ahead. But we are quite slow in a straight line, as I said, and ultimately they stopped before us so there was no reason to stop after that. Just going to hold on to it and see if we can stay out in front but unfortunately, it didn't work," said Hamilton further in the interview with Sky Sports.

Mercedes will look to bounce back in the upcoming weekend in Austria.