Hamilton warns Verstappen: "I'm prepared for championship battle; no W14 Plan B”
Once again, Mercedes head into a new F1 season on the backfoot, with their W14 someway off Red Bull’s RB19.
While the porpoising issues of last year haven’t re-surfaced, as it stands, Mercedes don’t seem to have the pace to challenge for the win in Bahrain this weekend.
While the pecking order is still unclear, many have tipped Mercedes to be in a fight with Aston Martin to be the third-fastest team.
Regardless of Mercedes’ overall performance, Hamilton says he’s ready for a title fight.
“We will find out in the next couple of days for what is realistic,” he told Sky. “But that’s what I have prepared for. I have prepared myself for a championship battle. Whether or not we have the equipment for a championship battle? We will find out. But I do believe that I have the team, still, who are championship worthy. We will keep our heads down.
“Last year we were in panic mode - ‘what is the issue? Fix it!’ It took us forever to fully understand it. This year, we start with a car that doesn’t bounce but it is similar to last year’s cars. But there are positives. It is a good foundation to work on.”
There was speculation following testing that Mercedes have a ‘Plan B’ car in reserve should their current concept not work.
“I saw people talking about a Plan B, there isn’t a Plan B, it’s complete rubbish,” he added.
“We are living in a time of the cost cap. To re-do and redesign a car you have to go back to square one, and we don’t have time in the season to do that.
“We will continue to evolve and build the car, and push it to its absolute limit. I know I’ve got the best team behind me to close the gap. It’s about finding that performance as fast as we can.”
