(Motorsport) Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were well off the pace compared to Red Bull at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last Sunday with the commentator at one point saying that the two cars looked like Formula 2 vs Formula 1. The seven time World Champion finished fifth in the race behind teammate George Russell who was fourth but ahead of the two Scuderia Ferrari cars who finished sixth and seventh respectively. As for Red Bull, they finished first and second once again with Max Verstappen going from 15th to 2nd, a testament to just how fast the car is.

In an interview, Lewis Hamilton said “I have definitely never seen a car so fast. When we were fast, we were not that fast. It is the fastest car I have seen, especially compared to the rest. I don’t know how, but he [Verstappen] came past me with some serious speed and I didn’t even bother to block him because there was a massive speed difference. Everyone wants to see a close battle, but it is the way it is. It is not my problem, it is not my fault.”

Hamilton qualified more than three tenths and four places behind teammate George Russell but managed to gain two places to finish behind his teammate and ahead of the two Ferrari’s. The 37 year old said that there were “positives” to take from Saudi Arabia but was frustrated at his team’s performance compared to Red Bull and Aston Martin. He said “(We are) still a long, long way off Red Bull. (It’s) definitely strange to see that Ferrari are behind us and it’s positive for us. It’s a different surface here and we don’t really understand why on this surface our car works one way and different on another.

“It will be up and down through the first three races. Hopefully we can get some upgrades ASAP and try to close that gap to the Astons. The strategy didn’t really work out for me, the set up was a little bit off – if I had the set up George had, I would have been in a better position. There was a 50-50 choice, I chose one way and he chose the other, and more often than not, the way he went was the wrong one but it just happened to work. I could only match his pace rather than be quicker this weekend, but I’ll work hard to make sure we’re in a better position next time.”

Also read: Formula 1: Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabia GP while Max Verstappen finishes 2nd