AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly has said that Formula 1 will be 'boring' and Lewis Hamilton will always win if there are not incidents in races that shake up the running order.

Hamilton is now a seven-time champion after sweeping all before him in the turbo-hybrid era - winning six of the seven championships available since 2014.

Indeed, his Mercedes team has also become one of the most dominant forces in the history of the sport and, naturally over the years, that has led many to claim Formula 1 has been dull.

Judging by his recent comments, that is something Pierre Gasly subscribes too and he says that, without racing incidents that throw a spanner in the works during a Grand Prix, you're nearly always going to get the same 'boring' result.

Quoted by Planet F1, Gasly was looking back at his dramatic win at Monza in 2020, where a mid-race red flag combined with Hamilton using the pitlane when shut - drawing a penalty - to pave the way for a new winner in the sport, and suggested only dramatic twists like that can prevent Lewis from victory.

“At the end of the day, the reality is that there are differences between the cars and if there will be no race incidents or no unexpected things happening in the race, then that will be boring. And I [don’t] think that’s why people watch F1 races.

“Obviously the Mercedes had their issues [at Monza,] but there are a lot of people that could have won that race – Carlos, Lando [Norris], Bottas came back, he was in P6 before the middle of the race – and no one did it. So I think we fully deserved it.

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“When Sergio [Perez] won [in Sakhir in 2020,] Mercedes had all sorts of issues and then you could say the same. But I believe you can say the same thing as long as Lewis doesn’t win, there will be always something happening to him or to Mercedes.”

Of course, this year we are seeing a renewed challenge towards Hamilton and Mercedes with Red Bull and Max Verstappen looking on an even footing and, perhaps, even holding the advantage in performance at the moment.

There is a point between the two in the standings ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend and it certainly looks as though the year is going to be far tighter than it perhaps has been for some time.