Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya recently dismissed Lewis Hamilton's comments about Red Bull's dominance in F1. The Mercedes driver has even asked the FIA to intervene with rule changes, which would help curtail Red Bull's dominance.
Hamilton recently asked the FIA to prevent teams from starting development work on next year's challenger before a certain date. The British driver received a lot of criticism for his statement, with commentators pointing out the hypocrisy in asking to change one of the major regulations that solidified Mercedes' reign during the turbo hybrid era.
Lewis Hamilton also stated that the current Red Bull challenger, the RB19, is far more dominant than Mercedes ever was and that Max Verstappen enjoys a bigger advantage than he did.
However, Juan Pablo Montoya stated that Hamilton enjoyed the same advantage that Verstappen is enjoying right now. He said (via PlanetF1):
“It’s always very nice to complain when you don’t win, but when Lewis won he said that the car didn’t give him any advantage. Actually Mercedes’ advantage was as big as what Red Bull currently has. I don’t want to say that Hamilton isn’t good, on the contrary, he is a great driver. But the reality of this sport is that you have to be in the best car.”
Lewis Hamilton's full focus is on helping Mercedes secure P2 in the championship
Talking about his target for the rest of the season, Lewis Hamilton said that his entire focus is on helping Mercedes secure P2 in the championship. He said (via Formula1.com):
“My full focus is on to try and secure second for the team. I think for everyone back in the factory it means a huge amount for them. And whilst we can't currently catch the Red Bulls, I think that puts us in a good position for next year.”
Alongside securing a P2 finish for the Silver Arrows in the constructors' standings, Hamilton will be looking to finish P3 in the drivers' standings. The British driver is currently fourth, only one point behind third-placed Fernando Alonso and 41 points behind second-placed Sergio Perez.