Hamilton: "From the tests we thought it would be a close battle"

Lewis Hamilton has admitted the Mercedes team were expecting a close battle at the start of the season with Ferrari expected to run them close but it has not panned out that way.

Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas have been first and second at the opening three races of the season and despite a lucky result in Bahrain have been relatively comfortable. Ferrari meanwhile have struggled for consistency, looking very quick in straight lines but have lost a lot of time in corners.

Ferrari’s best performance was from Charles Leclerc in Bahrain but he was only able to finish third after his engine short-circuited and Hamilton admitted the team were lucky in Sakhir.

“In Bahrain, I don't think we would have done a brace without the problem of reliability that has hit Leclerc.

“We would have finished second and third, or seconds and quarters.

“From the tests, we thought it would be a close battle.

“Putting the car in the right window would have given it an advantage, and this window is a couple of tenths, but we thought they were ahead.

“I'm not sure if they had a solid weekend yet, and it seemed to them that it was Sakhir, where they seemed to fly.”