Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted on Friday that the chances of Mercedes conserving tempo with the Red Bulls in Australia have been slim and that matching his fifth place in Saudi Arabia was a extra attainable purpose.
The Briton got here a shock second within the opening follow at Albert Park behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, earlier than slumping to thirteenth in a rain-affected second session.
He blamed adjustments made to the automobile between the two-hour runs for the gaping distinction.
The automobile “felt a little bit better this morning, we made some changes, they didn’t work, so we’ll revise those tonight,” he mentioned.
“Then it rained obviously so it wasn’t the best of sessions. You don’t really learn a huge amount when it’s between (conditions), so just keep the car safe.”
He discovered sufficient to know that come race day on Sunday, Mercedes will once more be enjoying catch-up to Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
On the high-speed, power-friendly Jeddah observe a fortnight in the past, Mercedes confirmed indicators of life, with Hamilton fifth and his teammate George Russell fourth.
It was a transparent enchancment from the season-opening race in Bahrain and so they bettered the Ferraris however have been nonetheless behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and the victorious Red Bull crew.
Hamilton mentioned one other fifth-placed end can be a superb consequence for him in Australia.
“We won’t be competing against the Red Bulls,” he mentioned. “It will just be about trying to see if we can get up as high as possible. I think we’ve got pace to be around fifth, same as the last race.”
Russell, who was fourth within the second follow, was extra optimistic, saying it “wasn’t too bad a day”.
“We’ve been making good steps with the car on Fridays. We’ve been changing a few things and getting the car in a nice window as the weekend progresses,” he added.
“That’s quite satisfying from the driver’s seat, knowing that the car feels better and as a team we have contributed towards that.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
