Hamilton reveals Ferrari have 'a lot of work to do' to catch Mercedes

The seven-time World Champion just missed out on a top-three finish at the end of Friday's running in Shanghai, +0.020 behind 2025 World Champion Lando Norris and his McLaren.

However, six-tenths was the gap between Hamilton and his former teammate George Russell, with the Mercedes man showing sublime pace once again by topping the timing sheets in Sprint Qualifying.

Although Hamilton's start to 2026 has been far more positive than his dismal 2025 season, the Brit knows he and his Ferrari team have plenty of work to do if they want to challenge his former team at the front of the grid.

"I'm really pleased with the session," a positive Hamilton said to F1TV after Sprint Qualifying.

After a chaotic FP1 saw Hamilton and Norris come together and bring out a virtual safety car, the two of them rebounded to lock out the second row of the grid for the sprint race on Saturday.

However, both will have to challenge the impressive power of the Mercedes, a key factor in the German team's early success in 2026.

"It was something that I think we were conscious of last year, that we thought that Mercedes started earlier than us or the rest - which they did last time [in 2014] as well," Hamilton explained.

Earlier in the week, GPblog confirmed that the Ferrari's 'Macarena' rotating rear wing would be brought to the Shanghai International Circuit as well.

The Scuderia used it during FP1, but it was quickly removed for the Sprint Qualifying session, with Hamilton saying it was the right decision.

"I don't really know why we went back on it. We rushed it to get it here, and it was not supposed to be on the cars until race four or five, or something like that," continued the 41-year-old.