Lewis Hamilton admits Max Verstappen fear heading into Austrian Grand Prix

 

Lewis Hamilton admits he will have to be wary of the threat of Max Verstappen as he bids to win a record-tying seventh world championship this season. Hamilton is gunning for history in the 2020 F1 season by clinching his fourth consecutive world title.

The British racing superstar has dominated the sport since joining Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows have had little challenge from Red Bull or Ferrari over the past few years.

But there were some promising signs for Red Bull last season, particularly with Verstappen.

The young Dutchman won three races as he finished third in the championship.

Red Bull looked strong in pre-season testing before the campaign was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Max Verstappen could run Lewis Hamilton close this season

And Hamilton still believes Verstappen will be his closest rival, particularly in Austria where the Red Bull driver has won on the last two occasions.

"They looked quite strong through testing and I think it was quite close between the top three teams in testing," he said.

"Red Bull particularly being the closest to us from our understanding.

"Max is progressing year-on-year, so I anticipate they're going to be strong competitors.

"They're always very strong on this track so it's definitely going to be a challenge these two weekends."

Hamilton has failed to finish on the podium in the past three years at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 35-year-old ended up finishing fifth last year as he struggled to find the pace to compete with Ferrari and Red Bull.

But Hamilton is confident of a better result this time around.

"We've not been terrible but it is a challenging circuit with the height of the circuit and the temperatures that we see," he added.

"We've arrived here not in the perfect window of operating temperatures for our car.

"But I'd like to think we're in a better position this year with the improvements we've made for this season's car so time will tell."