If the Silver Arrows are unable to get their act together soon, then they risk losing the seven-time champion towards the back end of his career.
Lewis Hamilton couldn't quite extract enough from his Mercedes to earn a race win this yearLewis Hamilton heads Max Verstappen during the United States Grand PrixLewis Hamilton looks forwards to a break in the winter
Speaking at the FIA’s prize gala, Hamilton reserved plenty of praise for Verstappen before sending a reminder that the German manufacturer is working round the clock to close up to Red Bull.
“For everyone, it has been a very, very long season and very much looking forward to the winter break,” he said.
“We’re working very, very hard on making sure we come back strong next year, I must say a big congratulations to Red Bull, Verstappen and Checo, they’ve done an incredible job this year.
“Max Verstappen was faultless. Max and all of his team really raised the bar and we have a lot of work to close that gap, but I truly do believe that we can close that gap.”
The Brit will now enjoy a hard-earnt winter break as Formula 1 wraps up for the next two or so months before the February car launches.