Lewis Hamilton blown away by the speed of the Red Bulls, insisting that Mercedes were never as fast.

As his team regroups in a bid to salvage something later in the season, as far as Lewis Hamilton is concerned these early races are all about damage limitation.

Starting 8th, after having his best time in qualifying deleted, the seven-time world champion could only watch on as Max Verstappen scythed his way through the field from 15th to second.

As Red Bull recorded its second 1-2 of the year, finishing over 20s ahead of third placed Fernando Alonso, Hamilton was asked if he found the pace of the RB19 to be concerning.

"I don't know it's not for me to say," he replied, "but I've never seen a car so fast.

"When we were fast we weren't that fast," he added. "That's the fastest car I've seen compared to the rest, I don't know why or how but he came past me with serious speed. I didn't even bother to block because there was a massive speed difference.

"I think everyone wants to see everyone close, but it's the way it is. Not my problem or fault."

"I'm generally happy," he said of a race which saw him unable to make full use of an alternative strategy to his Mercedes teammate, "I moved forwards after a difficult qualifying, so to turn it into a positive today... I've got some points.

"I didn't have the car set-up right this weekend," he admitted, "George had the right set-up, I need to work to make sure I have it in the right direction next time."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Jeddah here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 20/03/2023 22:20

"So, Hamilton insists they were never that fast huh?... *Looks at the lap record for Jeddah* "

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2. Posted by Stitch431, 20/03/2023 19:40

"Paddy Lowe said in Beyond the Grid that if Merc wanted to in 2014 they could have lapped the whole field, so I'm not sure if this is true...

Mercedes' project "slow down the Red Bulls" lobby is back in full swing...all three with one voice...Toto, Russell and Hamilton.(thanks @BillGates for the quote)"

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3. Posted by Paulinho, 20/03/2023 17:41

"It's not like RedBull gained such an unfair advantaged last year, but Lewis is correct, the cars get faster each year, so technically his car wouldn't of been as fast."

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4. Posted by RobMartin, 20/03/2023 17:28

"That's because the last time there was a car that much faster than everything else, he was driving it...
"

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5. Posted by Endre, 20/03/2023 12:15

"When I read the title I thought he is talking about George easily pulling away from him on hards while he was trying to catch him on the faster mediums.

What a joker; someone should explain to him how DRS works, how car setup can differ (straight line vs corner speed) and also remind him when Mercedes was at least 1.5 s per lap faster than anyone. He is right, they weren't this much faster, they were a lot more faster and reliable than Red Bull is now."

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6. Posted by Chester, 20/03/2023 10:44

"Defense mechanisms must give him a short memory."

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"I've never seen a car so fast," says Hamilton

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