Lewis Hamilton claims he still doesn’t know how he can make up the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari to start the new Formula 1 season.
As each of the expected main challengers play down expectations ahead of Melbourne, the world champion continues to suggest there is a hefty gap between the expected top two teams.
And though he maintains faith that Mercedes can develop their W10 car faster over the year, he has a new warning for those at Brackley.
“I think already last year we as a team were behind on performance so we had to overachieve on delivery, and now we have to reach even further, it means we have to squeeze our performance even more,” he was quoted by GPFans.com.
“But we also have to be careful in that scenario because it can also push you over the edge and you can have faults.
“We’ve got the best team around us. We have experience, it’s no coincidence that we are world champions so we have to be diligent and stay balanced,” he added.
“But as a driver for sure, I have to figure out how can I pull more out, which I don’t have the current answer for.”
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Hamilton also declared that he and Mercedes “don’t mind” the threat being posed by Ferrari and that he has no qualms with how his team performed over the winter.
“We will fight. It just means we have to work harder,” he said. “But I am really really proud of what our team has done to get us here today. It is not that I am worried or disappointed.
“We are just incredibly encouraged and enthused that we are working as hard as we are, we have a hill to climb but we know how to do it.”