© Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
After Mercedes surprised everybody with a 1-2 in Friday’s second free practice, Lewis Hamilton says he believes they’re “going to be in the mix”.
The Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 1 was a relatively difficult session for Mercedes, however in FP2, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell topped the timesheets.
After the session Lewis gave his thoughts on the day.
“[In] FP1, [we] were surprised,” the Briton said.
“It was very, very windy this morning, so it was a really difficult session I think for everyone. The track was so different compared to practice [pre-season testing] last week.
“Otherwise it was feeling okay, but we didn’t really know where we stood on the C2 tyre, and then in this session [FP2], [with] the car, we made some improvements over the session.
“Again I don’t understand, it’s a shock to see us where we are. We’ll take it for now but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We need to keep our heads down, keep working on the set-up.
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“I think our long-run pace is nowhere near the Red Bulls, for example, and I think we were a lot closer so we’ve got some work to do there.”
Hamilton added that the fact that Mercedes listened to his suggestions regarding the seat position in the car, has really helped him.
“My seat position is finally further rearwards, I’ve got a better feel for the car approaching the corners.
“There are areas that have been fixed and improved. It feels like a race car for once and the last two cars didn’t feel like that, so it’s a really good platform for us to work on and we’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep on chasing.”
Asked whether Mercedes can still improve its long-run pace compared to Red Bull, Lewis said:
“I do, [but] in terms of achieving that I don’t know how necessarily with the new car.
“With a new car you have all new tools, everything’s been redesigned and so all the previous numbers and names of things are completely shifted, so you’re learning a whole new vocabulary when it comes to the car set-up.
“We’ve tested some of them but not all of them, because we only had a day and a half [in pre-season testing], so yeah, we have to see.
“I hope that we can make a step. I’ve got a bit of an idea but I don’t know how to achieve that yet currently with the set-up changes, without affecting the other side of things, a single lap, so we’ll see.
“I think we’re going to be in the mix. I think it’s a bit too early to say, but I think we’re there or thereabouts with Ferrari and maybe Aston [Martin] and McLaren.
“I don’t know exactly where we lie with those guys, but we’re around those so it’s going to be close.
“A nice battle with us, I think if Max is in the front he will veer off as he has done for the last couple of years,” he concluded.
