It's too early to rule Lewis Hamilton out of 2013 title fight - Martin Brundle

Lewis Hamilton

F1 expert analyst Martin Brundle has claimed that Lewis Hamilton cannot be ruled out of the World Drivers’ Championship title.

The F1 expert believes that Hamilton can still be counted in race to the championship as the Hungarian Grand Prix is still halfway through the championship season with so many points to come.

Martin Brundle told Sky Sports: “There’s a long way to go in this championship. Halfway through the Hungarian Grand Prix is halfway through the championship season, so many points to come.”

“Lewis is still in there. He’s got some points on the board so he’s not out of sight already. He’s got the pole positions, the victories haven’t come his way – two have gone to [Nico] Rosberg of course, his team-mate, who’s driving beautifully.

“So I wouldn’t write him off.”

However, Brundle believes that Mercedes face a difficult task ahead after their enforced absence for last week’s Silverstone test.

“Missing the Silverstone test will hurt them quite a lot because the tyres are fundamentally changing now for the second half of the season,” he said.

“They will get the data but they won’t know how it applies to their car. Even a tiny change in the side-wall of the tyre, or the squash as it’s going down the straights when the downforce starts getting applied, affects the aerodynamics of your car. So I think it’s going to hurt them quite a lot.”