Hamilton says Ferrari have "another level" Mercedes cannot reach

Lewis Hamilton has insisted Mercedes has plenty of work to do if the team want to be equal with Ferrari's power this season, despite the start to the season.

Ferrari seemingly had the more powerful engine when we got the first glimpse of F1 2019 in pre-season testing in Barcelona. Despite the Italian manufacturer having better straight-line speed, Mercedes' ability to turn the corners quicker has allowed them to win the opening seven races of the season.

Albeit, Hamilton's win in Canada was very fortunate, following a controversial five-second penalty handed to Sebastian Vettel towards the end of the race.

Mercedes brought its "Phase 2" engine upgrade to Montreal - with Ferrari bringing its second-spec power unit a couple of races before. Hamilton believes Scuderia have "another level" that the Silver Arrows are not able to reach yet.

"We've got work to do, we've seen how quick Ferrari were at the weekend, and they were kinda right there at the last race (in Monaco) as well," Hamilton said, as cited by Motorsport Week.

"It will be interesting to see how it plays out. They're quicker than us on the straights. They have another level of engine mode they can go to, particularly in qualifying but also the race, so we've got work to do.

"They were so strong this weekend and a real formidable force. We were very, very fortunate to be in the battle with (Vettel) as they genuinely could have had a one-two if they had a front-row for example, but luckily, I was able to stop it."