Lewis Hamilton believes title rival Max Verstappen will have an “easy cruise” to victory at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Red Bull has won the last four races, three of them by Verstappen, and the Dutchman claimed his third pole position in succession on Saturday.
Hamilton, meanwhile, qualified in fourth spot, having been beaten by Verstappen, McLaren’s Lando Norris, and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
“In terms of pure pace it’s definitely out of the question,” Hamilton told TV crews of his win prospects.
“They’ve [Red Bull] got three-tenths on us, I think they’ve improved their car again this weekend. I would say that’s an easy cruise win for Max.
“I think for us, [the target is] to try and see if we can get ahead of at least Perez and try to limit the damage this weekend.”
Hamilton conceded that he is losing “just a little bit everywhere” to Verstappen and reckons Mercedes has to make gains in the coming events.
“It’s even more of a challenge than it already was last week and we’ve continued to lack pace,” he said.
“We tried everything to get more out of the car and it’s just the underlying pace that is where we are at, at the moment.
“We’ve got to really find performance in the following races.” Hamilton trails Verstappen by 18 points in the standings.
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