Lewis Hamilton said Thursday his Mercedes team is so far off the pace at the start of the Formula One season that the seven-time champion needs three teams to fall out of a race just for him to have a chance to win.
Red Bull dominated the season-opener in Bahrain two weeks ago with a 1–2 finish from two-time defending world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Fernando Alonso finished a surprising third for Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz Jr. was fourth for Ferrari.
Hamilton was about 51 seconds behind Verstappen in fifth, while teammate George Russell finished 56 seconds back in seventh. Both finishes would have been worse had Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s engine not failed near the end of the race….