Hamilton: Mercedes not to blame for current state of F1

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton believes his Mercedes team cannot be blamed for its current domination of the sport.

Mercedes has made its best-ever start to an F1 season after taking five consecutive one-two finishes at the start of the 2019 season as it bids to seal a sixth straight world championship double, a feat which would see it surpass Ferrari’s previous record.

The German manufacturer already holds a 96-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, while Hamilton is 46 points clear of the nearest non-Mercedes driver, Max Verstappen, who sits third for Red Bull.

"Staying focused is pretty easy but it is not as much fun as when you are competing against another team - that is was F1 is about,” Hamilton said.

“When you arrive and you are competing against other teams who are bringing their A game and you have another two drivers and that puts a spanner in the mix.

“When that is not there it is definitely a lot less exciting from a competition point of view, racing within a team...it is not how F1 should be, but it is what it is right now and it has been like that in the past. But it is not our fault these guys are good at their jobs."

Asked if he feels Mercedes can win all 21 races in 2019, Hamilton replied: “Who knows? We definitely did not expect to come into the season winning the first five races, which is incredibly encouraging for everyone.

"Everyone is still pushing incredibly hard, which is still so great to see. It really is a phenomenal group of people. In the engineers' room, nobody is overconfident.

“We were just discussing improvements we could make and talking about how we could improve the car. They don't mind constructive criticism. They don't take it personally.

“I think this is the strongest team there is and has ever been and it would be hard to break that."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff concurred with his driver, adding: “We’re really trying to perform as well as we can. We pushed the benchmark and we push the needle and we try to be better as a group every single day and every single year.

“This team coming together with the struggles that we had in the winter is just a super satisfaction for the team and the group and this is what my personal feeling is.

“Then on the other side if I take myself out from my Mercedes standpoint and all of the group, of course as a fan you want variability and unpredictability,” he continued.

“We all enjoyed Liverpool coming back as strong as they did and Spurs making it against all odds. I had the laptop on my knees watching the game when we saw Liverpool beating Barcelona.

“As a fan and as a spectator, I can relate to the sport needing to have a certain variability. But where we are, it can't be an objective for us.

“I also feel that it's bad karma if we were to really think that we are walking on water - then next weekend you're going to get one in the face for sure.”