F1 fans already feel like Lewis Hamilton has the upcoming season is in the bag as the Briton targets a record-equalling seventh world championship.
It comes after Sebastian Vettel spun during testing as he rounded turn 7 at Barcelona as Mercedes set about dominating the time sheets.
The German and his Scuderia were deemed to have been awfully quick in testing 12 months ago, but Valtteri Bottas has already wiped half a second off their quickest time.
The Finn set a 1.15.7 after less than three days of testing while Vettel's best showing last year was a 1.16.2 around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Hamilton enjoyed one of his most dominant years in 2019 and with the Mercedes package dwarfing its rivals thus far there is a sense of inevitability among fans.
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"Ok Mercedes world champion 2020 confirmed," said one.
"I'm not watching this season. Give the cup to Hamilton already," added a second.
"Can we just name @MercedesAMGF1 as champion already, & have another championship between remaining teams?" asked another.
Mercedes won the first eight races last season which includes six one-two finishes as they won a sixth straight constructors title.
Bottas also struggled to match Hamilton across the season having threatened to rival the 31-year-old when he won two of the opening four races.
Nico Rosberg is the only man to beat Hamilton since he won his first title at Mercedes and insists his competitors may take advantage of his off days to have any chance of toppling him.
He said: “Of course I know Lewis’s weaknesses inside out. Better than anybody else in the world – his strength is an unbelievable talent, his work ethic and all that.
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“The weakness would be a little bit those phases where he loses a bit of motivation or things don’t go his way, he will give up a little bit and then it can take a few races.
“It might extend to two or three races and that’s where as a competitor you have to pounce flat out and make the most of it. If you don’t, you have no chance.”
- Lewis Hamilton
- Sebastian Vettel
- Ferrari
- Mercedes
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