Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Mercedes could be "in trouble" against Red Bull's current pace at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton came home 16 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the Dutch driver checking out up front once he took the lead into Turn 1. Having spent more time worrying about the pursuing Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull behind him, Hamilton said that this weekend's race at Interlagos could be more of the same. "Obviously, 19 points is a lot of points," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.com , referring to Verstappen's extended title advantage. "He's had a lot of wins this year. "I think today with their superior speed, if they were to carry that into the next [races], then we may be in trouble – or we will be in trouble. "I don't know if they'll be using that huge wing that they had on today. Naturally, we'll find out when we get there, but I hope we're closer." Hamilton could be heard on team radio after the start of the race, saying, "We need to sort out our braking", after Verstappen outbraked both Mercedes drivers around the outside into Turn 1. Having struggled to slow the Mercedes down into that corner all weekend, Hamilton said they had identified it as a particular weakness. "I mean, braking's been an issue for me all weekend," he said. "I went on twice in Turn 1 through practice, qualifying... locking [the tyres]. "Our car for some reason, this weekend, has been quite poor in that area, and that's a particular area in which they're a lot stronger than us. When you put more load on the car, it does help, but we couldn't match them load-wise in terms of wing setting this weekend."
"It's not enough at the moment"
Having been beaten by Red Bull on pace outright in Mexico, and on strategy in the United States, Hamilton trails Verstappen by 19 points with four races remaining in the championship. Asked whether Brazil has become a "must win" race in order to arrest the slide, as Verstappen closes in on his maiden championship, Hamilton said that his goal hasn't changed. "Well, I naturally feel I need to be winning every race," he said. "Because we need those extra points, not to lose those points, to try and regain [them]. That was the goal going into the last race, and the race before that, and before that, and here this weekend. "But they're [Red Bull] just too quick, so [we're] giving it absolutely everything we've got. Unfortunately, it's not enough at the moment to compete with them."
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