What has happened to Mercedes? The Silver Arrows dominated the turbo-hybrid era of this sport with so much panache and control that no one thought they could stop them. Alas, that fateful night at Abu Dhabi and the 2022 regulations reset was the antidote to the mindless and robotic dominance of Lewis Hamilton & Co. But the fall from grace has been so ugly for the Brit and his team that even entertaining the idea of fighting for wins seems like a distant dream.

The W13 and now the W14 have been tricky beasts to handle. So much so, that the man who has amassed a whopping 103 wins in this sport has faced a dry spell since Jeddah 2021. And while the 2023 Singapore GP was a welcome move forward in terms of pace, the 7x champion knows that his team is nowhere near the genius and strength of Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton dismisses his chances amid Red Bull resurgence

Hamilton was oh so close to winning a Grand Prix again. That was only because 2x champion, Max Verstappen and his team were having an inexplicably bad weekend. However, now that everything is back to normal and Verstappen is setting the pace once again, Hamilton has learned his own place in the 2023 pecking order.

Hence, not giving a hoot for PR or how his boss, Toto Wolff would feel, the 38-year-old has given a clear verdict on his hopes for the 2023 Japanese GP. He was quoted as saying, “We definitely won’t be winning this weekend but if I can maybe move up a little bit further up the order. [But it’s going to be] a tough one.

Hamilton wants to exact revenge on Verstappen for all the misery that he’s put the Brit through since 2021. That being said, he still does respect the accolades garnered by the Dutch lion.

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Hamilton gives uncharacteristic applause to Max Verstappen

Hamilton and Verstappen have been having an uncanny war of words this season. Be that as it may, being arguably the greatest driver this sport has seen, Lewis Hamilton does understand that it is important to give credit where credit is due.

Hamilton was quoted by the media earlier this year as saying, “I was just asked a question earlier: would you rather take Max out of the equation or take Adrian Newey out of the equation? Something like that. And I was like, ‘neither’, I think we just have to level up and do a better job. They’ve done an exceptional job, and you can’t fault them for the amazing work that they collectively are doing and have done.”

Can Lewis Hamilton get his revenge on Max Verstappen before either of them retire from the sport for good?

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