Lewis Hamilton has hinted Mercedes are beatable at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, following a strong showing from the seven-time world champion in qualifying.
Seemingly happier with the performance of his SF-26, Hamilton had the edge over teammate Charles Leclerc in qualifying.
The Briton had a few scares, however, as the gusts hovering over the Shanghai International Circuit ruined two of his laps, forcing Hamilton to catch his car.
His efforts culminated in lining up third for Sunday’s race, putting him in an ideal position to utilise Ferrari’s start-line advantage, courtesy of its turbo efficiency.
Hamilton explained the difficult conditions, highlighting the difficulty of putting a lap together, given the wind direction.
“It was actually a really tough qualifying,” Hamilton said in Parc Ferme.
“A bit harder this one, with the wind – it’s so gusty today, so putting the lap together was challenging.
“Charles put in great laps, these guys [Mercedes] put in great laps. So I’m really happy to be up here, and grateful to be up here with these guys.”
“Good work” by Ferrari ahead of Chinese GP
Hamilton hinted at work behind the scenes to close the gap to Mercedes, believing the work has already begun to bear fruit.
“They’ve been rapid so far this season, but we did some good work,” he said.
“The engineers did some great work over the break.
We managed to get a little bit closer to these guys. So that’s a real positive.”
Hamilton also made his goals clear for Sunday, as he made clear his intent to eradicate the gap to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, firing a warning shot he plans to be agressive.
“It’s still gonna be a challenge, but I’m sure we’ll have some fun. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“We’ll have a lot of fun, we learned a lot in the sprint race.
“So let’s hope tomorrow is not as windy as this, and our goal is to try and break the gap between these guys somehow.”
Hamilton is a driver reborn after the first race weekend in Australia. The confidence and open body language in press conferences indicates a driver that is engaged, and hungry for results.
His in demeanour can also be heard over the radio, praising his team, and working with his temporary race engineer. The reason for this change is clear: Hamilton believes he can win again. Shanghai presents his first real opportunity to win in red. Expect him to go all out.
READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest polesitter in Qualifying for F1 Chinese GP
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