Hamilton not sure if Mercedes can challenge Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton doesn't know if Mercedes can challenge Ferrari during Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel took pole position for the Italian team on Saturday, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen occupying the second spot.

Mercedes had to settle for third and fourth, with Valtteri Bottas getting the better of Hamilton for the second weekend in succession. Despite the Briton claiming that China is one of the easiest circuits to overtake on, he isn't sure if the Silver Arrows can pose a threat.

"It's in the top three of the easier ones [tracks] to overtake at – I think the delta is around a second but the Ferraris are too fast on the straights," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

"It’ll be interesting. It’s a lot hotter tomorrow, so it’ll be a challenge to see if we can keep up with them. I don’t know if we can challenge, we’re half a second behind today. Honestly, I can’t tell you if we’ll challenge."

Hamilton has failed to win in 2018 as yet, with Vettel taking the two available victories. And the Briton has predicted that Ferrari will make it three from three tomorrow: "We were quicker in the last race, but they were able to hold on and they’ll probably do the same tomorrow."

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