Lewis Hamilton is confident that “the pace is there” for Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after being the third wheel during Friday’s closely contested practice sessions.
Hamilton wound up fifth quickest at the Hungaroring, his best lap coming on Soft tyres, while Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third best, behind Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton, though, remains sure that Mercedes can move to the front of the “super tight” battle at the Hungaroring, where he has triumphed on five occasions in Formula 1.
“It wasn't the easiest start to the weekend, with the conditions very gusty,” he explained.
“We end the day in fifth but there's clearly good pace in the car.
“It's super tight between Ferrari, Red Bull and ourselves at the top of the leaderboard, so it's looking like it will be an exciting weekend.
“There's some more work to do overnight to fine-tune the balance to get the car just where we want it and I believe the pace is in there.
“We just need to unlock it ahead of qualifying because every tenth is going to be crucial with three teams in the mix.”
Third-placed Bottas added: “We have some work to do. The three teams at the front seemed very close.
“I was not quite happy with the balance of the car today and I was especially struggling with the rear end.
“The temperatures are expected to rise tomorrow, which means that we really need to get the rear end of the car more stable.
“I think that will be the main area for us to focus on. It should be interesting tomorrow.”
