Exclusive – Hamilton writes off his chances of British GP win

Lewis Hamilton has written off his hopes of winning the British Grand Prix this weekend, and believes changes to the regulations means McLaren are set to take ‘another step backwards’.

The 2008 world champion has suffered a frustrating season so far and is currently fourth in the drivers’ world championship, but a massive 89 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel.

Red Bull duo Vettel and Mark Webber appear to have a far superior car to their rivals and most experts expect one of them – or Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso - to claim victory at Silverstone on Sunday. And Hamilton is clearly in no mood to disagree.

He said: “I will go there as well prepared as I can be and drive as fast as I can – but really, we may struggle.

“The desire to win is even greater because it’s your home country and because the fans are so spectacular. They always put a spark in the weekend, but I don’t have high expectations. To finish ahead of at least one Ferrari would be a positive.”

And Hamilton even fears that a change in the regulations (which will ban the use of the off-throttle blowing of diffusers to increase downforce) will see McLaren lose more ground on their rivals.

He added: ‘I think we will take another step backwards, and that Red Bull and Ferrari will be less affected by it.”

You can read the full interview with Lewis Hamilton in this week's Sport magzine, out on Friday. Or visit www.sport-magazine.co.uk