Lewis Hamilton has set his sights on being able to battle Max Verstappen and Red Bull for a race win as soon as next month’s British Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Mercedes made a giant leap forward with their upgraded car at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, with both Mercedes drivers on the podium.
Verstappen finished 24seconds clear of Hamilton at the chequered flag but, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion said his team’s rate of development meant they could close the gap in three races’ time.
“We’re only like three tenths off each lap,” he said. “I was around three or four tenths off Max [in Barcelona], which was the closest I think we’ve ever been this year.
“And I’m hoping by then [Silverstone] we will hopefully have taken another step. So, I’m really hopeful that… maybe that will be a race where we get to actually race them but we’ll see.”
Verstappen is understandably the red-hot favourite to win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday having won five of this season’s seven grands prix to date.
Victory in Spain was the 40th of his career and Hamilton, who boasts the outright record of 103, warned the Dutchman would eventually eclipse him in the record books.
“He’s got a very long career ahead of him so absolutely,” said Hamilton of the Dutchman’s potential to surpass him as the most successful driver in Formula 1 history. “Ultimately, records are there to be broken, and he’s got an amazing team.
“We’ve got to work harder to try and continue to extend it. I hope we get to some more close racing.”
There were rumours in the build-up to what is the eighth race of the season that Hamilton was on the cusp of finally signing his new contract with the team, which would see him earn £50million a year.
Talks had been planned with team principal Toto Wolff in the wake of Barcelona but Hamilton insisted they had not progressed sufficiently to put pen to paper.
On the latest on that deal, he said: ‘’I don’t really have a huge amount to say on the contractual side of things. It’ll get done when it’s done. If that’s next week, if that’s in a month’s time, as long as it gets done, I’m not really bothered.”
Victory for Verstappen at the weekend would put him alongside Ayrton Senna in the record books on 41 with just Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Hamilton left to catch.
Of joining such esteemed company, he said: “People always have different kind of careers. Maybe some drivers get into a race-winning car sooner than others. Nowadays, we have more races than back in the day so I never really look at the number.
“But as a kid I would never have imagined to be in that list. It is an amazing career for sure but you can’t compare it.”
