Lewis Hamilton admits Ferrari might be out of reach over a single lap after a disrupted practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The newly-crowned 2019 world champion was only fifth fastest on Friday, this after opting not to run in the wet first session at Interlagos.
His time was influenced by having to abandon his first run after being blocked by Valtteri Bottas, but the pace of the Italian team still caught Hamilton’s attention.
“It started out really well straightaway from the get-go, we started on a good baseline and just made a couple of adjustments in that short space of time we had in the session, then we’ll do some work tonight to refine it,” he reflected via Crash.net.
“It is quite crucial because we only have two sessions ahead of qualifying to get it right and we have to compact it a little bit more and be a bit more precise with the changes we’ve made.
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“I don’t know if we have three tenths to get where the Ferraris are,” he added. “Obviously the Ferraris are quick this weekend – or it seems today. They’re generally beating us on the straights so it’ll be interesting to see how that pans out.”
Mercedes’ pace on the race simulation appeared much more competitive though and Bottas offered a more optimistic tone.
“I had big traffic in the second run and actually looking at the times it’s pretty close,” he stated.
“With the laps I had I think we look quite competitive, even for qualifying, but still lots more to come. I think considering how the sessions went, it was not too bad.”
It’s not just Ferrari that Mercedes are keeping their eye on either, as Max Verstappen finished ahead of both Silver Arrows in third for Red Bull.
“I think they are both going to be really strong,” Bottas continued.
“Obviously lately Ferrari has always been very strong in qualifying with the power unit, but that’s the situation as it stands now, who knows. They are both going to be there but we will be as well.”