Lewis Hamilton believes Red Bull will be “very hard to beat” in Brazil as he strives to stay in touch with Max Verstappen in the championship battle.
Hamilton trails Verstappen by 19 points and has not beaten the Dutchman across the last three events, with the Red Bull driver triumphant in the United States and Mexico City.
Four rounds remain in 2021, beginning this weekend at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos, where Verstappen claimed pole position and victory during Formula 1’s last visit in 2019.
“Their pace was obviously phenomenal in the last race,” said Hamilton.
“They’ve had a strong car all year, they’ve had the strongest car, you can tell. I think we’ve done as good as I think we could.
“We are definitely going to be pushing this weekend to see if we can squeeze any more from out of the car.
“Last time here they were incredibly strong so we anticipate again they will be very hard to beat this weekend. Where there’s a will there’s a way, hopefully.”
This weekend marks the third and final appearance this year for Sprint, leaving drivers with just one practice session prior to qualifying, rather than the usual three.
“What we try and focus on is getting the car in the right window which isn’t easy,” he said.
“It’s not an easy car to set up but I think it’s probably similar for everyone so just sitting with the engineers, even before now and just trying to make sure we start on the right foot because you only have P1 so it’s even more intense this weekend.”
Hamilton has won twice in Brazil, at the rain-lashed 2016 race, and in 2018, following Verstappen’s collision with a lapped Esteban Ocon.
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