Hamilton prepared for "rapid" Ferrari in Bahrain

After losing out to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton is expecting another tough fight when the F1 circus moves on to Bahrain.

The 2017 World Champion lost out during the pit stop phase when rival Vettel pitted under a Virtual Safety Car period and jumped Hamilton in the process.

On Bahrain, Hamilton said: “There will be ups and downs. Ferrari are really quick on the straights.

“I think their performance is better than what it looked, they will be rapid in the next race.

“They are always good on hot circuits - even though it is a night race it is tough on the tyres.

“I can tell you it’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure and it’s going to be close.”

Mercedes have launched an investigation into why Hamilton was told to pit despite not having the gap to Vettel in case on a VSC scenario.

Hamilton added: “I had extra tools, I could have been further ahead by the first put stop.

“I feel like I was driving as good as ever and really happy with how I was driving.

“Anyway, I will take it on to the next race and apply it exactly the same as this weekend and try to grow within myself.

“Everyone in the team is feeling it but there is so much positivity to take forwards with us.

“We still got second, it feels like a dark cloud but it’s not.

“We have a great car, we are still the world champions and with a couple of adjustments we can win the next race.”