F1 News
Hamilton yet to draw conclusions: 'We can close to gap to McLaren'
Ferrari did not have the best of starts to the season in Australia. At the season-opener, their drivers were not close to finishing on the podium, and their strategy gamble made it worse. Lewis Hamilton reflected in Shanghai about the gap to McLaren.
It was opposite weekend for Ferrari and McLaren at the Albert Park track. At one point, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were leading ahead of Max Verstappen by 16 seconds as well, and meanwhile, the Scuderia were not close to challenge the Dutchman for the final place on the podium. In the end, the team collected five points in Melbourne.
Hamilton finished in P10 at his Ferrari debut. Looking back at the event, he could only praise McLaren, the team he first drove for in the competition, but is yet to draw conclusions about their gap. "It has only been one race. So yes, McLaren has done a great job and they're looking very strong. I can't judge that from one race. They look very quick on the long runs in testing, pace in the race, and on all conditions they look fantastic," he began in China.
The seven-time world champion believes Ferrari will be able to cut the gap. "But that's not how we're approaching each weekend. We're still just taking our time to learn the car and to be able to extract more from it. We definitely have work to do. I don't think we're on the pace of the McLarens, but I think we can close it down," he concluded.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!