- Second Bahrain Test - Day Four
Hamilton sure Red Bull is quick
Lewis Hamilton has described the Red Bull as a "stunning car" and is sure it will be quick once the team overcomes its reliability issues.
Hamilton and Mercedes head to the first grand prix in Australia among the favourites, while Red Bull has struggled to string together decent long runs due to various reliability issues. But Hamilton is sure Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull will emerge as a title contender once the car starts running reliably.
"He's the reigning world champion, so he's the target for everyone," Hamilton said. "They look like they have a stunning car, and usually the more beautiful it is the faster it is. I'm sure they'll have a very quick car.
"Once they get the engine sorted and all those systems I think they will be, as always, very hard to beat. But I know my team is stronger than them so hopefully we will be able to fight with them."
Asked what his personal expectations are for Melbourne in two weeks, Hamilton said: "I hope and think we will definitely be shooting for the top five. That's all I can say."
But Hamilton said making predictions was incredibly tough due to the regulation changes over the winter.
"It's definitely the weirdest and most difficult pre-season to be able to judge where everyone is. There are still things we are learning, tonnes of stuff, and I'm sure there's stuff that people haven't covered yet. So as we go into a race weekend it will be a bit like a test on Friday and we will be learning and learning. There will be mistakes along the way, I'm sure, from the whole paddock."
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