Lewis Hamilton admits he has “work to do” to challenge teammate Valtteri Bottas let alone Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Briton failed to complete a trouble-free lap during the afternoon qualifying simulation and as a result, ended the day fourth almost seven tenths off the pace set by his Mercedes partner.
Pinpointing his problem, the world champion believes the cool conditions in Shanghai, more representative of pre-season testing, had an effect.0
“It was a relatively straightforward day, but it was quite cold out there, which makes it difficult for the tyres,” he said.
“I was struggling with the car, so we’ve got work to do, particularly on my side as Valtteri looked much more comfortable in the car.
“We’re going to work hard tonight to find some tweaks and hopefully come back stronger tomorrow; the car has the pace in it to compete at the front, we just need to find the right set-up.”
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With Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen all covered by just a quarter of a second in front, Hamilton is also keen to get involved in the battle.
“It is nice to see how close it is between us, Red Bull and Ferrari,” Lewis commented. “I anticipate that it is going to be the same tomorrow.”
Across the garage, teammate Bottas almost upset the form guide by beating Vettel to P1 in the afternoon and was satisfied with his day’s work.
“The day ended up ok, we made it to the top of the timesheets, but it is always very difficult to find a good balance through an entire lap on this track,” the Finn explained.
“We got there step by step and the car was feeling ok in the end, but it’s only Friday and it’s the next two days that count.
“Ferrari still seem to be quicker than us on the straights, whereas we were better in most corners in FP2.
“We still have room for improvement, but we know the others are going to work hard on their cars as well, so we’re going to have to wait and how much we can improve in relation to them.”