Lewis Hamilton has shrugged off the threat posed by Ferrari, despite Sebastian Vettel setting the pace on Friday.
Hamilton was only four thousandths of a second slower than the German but set his best after multiple timed laps when the optimum grip from the supersoft tyres would have been lost.
“Tomorrow we will find out but I don’t think so,” he told Autosport when asked if Ferrari were contenders.
“They look like they are quite quick. They are not as quick as us at the moment, but maybe tomorrow it will be different.”
In what is a key weekend for the three-time world champion, who could, in theory, lose his crown in Mexico, Hamilton was pleased with his day’s work and hoped more was to come.
“Practice was strong for us, I got a lot of laps, a good understanding of long runs and low-fuel runs.
“Now it’s about digesting that and [working out] how to make another small step for tomorrow.”
Certainly, Hamilton appeared to have a better day than his teammate Nico Rosberg who didn’t appear as comfortable around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
But the championship leader put the pace difference between himself and Lewis down to a different program Mercedes implemented, with the German focusing on the medium compound for much of the day.
Unlike Hamilton, however, Rosberg was a little more nervous about the speed shown by the Maranello outfit.
“Everything is going in the right way, but Ferrari was a bit of a surprise so we need to do some homework tonight.
“Today was very cold and that made the cars very, very nervous – quite a handful out there,” he surmised.
On Vettel’s part, he was also more cautious about Ferrari’s overall pace but remained hopeful Mexico is simply a circuit that suits his car more.
“We need to be realistic, not judging today on the result but judging the feeling of overall pace,” he said.
“The pace was very good here last year, so maybe there is something about Mexico which suits Ferrari.
“It’s difficult to say but if we are in the same position tomorrow we can get excited,” he claimed.
Despite Hamilton’s pessimism surrounding Ferrari’s challenge, he will be hopeful of greater competition. If the likes of Vettel, Raikkonen or the two Red Bull’s can finish between himself and Rosberg it will help close the 26-point gap in the championship providing he wins the race.
Comments.
Loading comments…