Lewis Hamilton: "Red Bull is definitely our closest competitor"

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he is wary of Red Bull after their step up in performance this year.

After a dismal 2015 season which ended with a very public falling out with underperforming engine manufacturer Renault, Red Bull have emerged as the closest challenger to Mercedes, and have been the only team other than the dominant German marque to win a race this year.

Despite Mercedes still holding a vast 159 point lead in the constructors' championship, championship leader Hamilton has said that Red Bull are now a threat.

"They've got a very, very strong team," he said. "I think Red Bull have definitely picked up with their engine performance but also they've got great downforce. I don't know why they closed up a little bit more than others [in recent races] but they're definitely looking incredibly strong."

"Ferrari looked strong at one point during the [German GP] weekend and then they seemed to fade off more so in the race, so Red Bull is definitely our closest competitor."

Since the 1.6 litre V6 Turbo engine formula was introduced at the start of 2014, Mercedes have won 43 out of a possible 50 races, with Red Bull taking four wins and Ferrari three, all of which were in 2015.

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