© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton thinks Red Bull will carry its advantage into the race and believes the Austrian team still has “at least two tenths in hand”.
After finishing 0.388s behind Max Verstappen in the Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton says the end result for Mercedes is better than expected.
“It’s definitely closer than we expected,” Lewis said.
“I think this is a really good step forward for us coming into this weekend.
“I think we thought it would be double the gap that you see today and so that’s down to some really fantastic work from the men and women back at the factory.”
The Briton expects Red Bull to keep its advantage over Mercedes in the race.
“I think they’ve got the pace and with the gap they had today, usually they carry that into the race. They are very strong in the race conditions.
“I’d like to think that we can close that up a bit, but I think they have still got at least two tenths in hand.
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“We knew from day one on track that the Red Bull was faster than us and we know we had a bit of an uphill battle to climb, so I’m just proud of everyone’s efforts.
“I look upon each year and look at what can be improved and really just try to show my appreciation for the team.
“There’s a lot of guys so I can’t name every single one of them at the end of the day but just want them to know how much I appreciate them,” concluded Hamilton.
Meanwhile, third placed Valtteri Bottas believes the duo can work together to overthrow Verstappen in the race.
“Now, we have two cars in the mix at the front against Max, so I’m sure we can cooperate and do something good,” the Finn said after qualifying.
