Hamilton fires warning to Red Bull after ‘great’ day for Mercedes 

Hamilton finished third-fastest in opening practice before ending up fourth in FP2, just over three-tenths adrift of surprise pacesetter Lando Norris. 

The British duo appear the drivers most likely to challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen - who topped FP1 - over one lap in qualifying, based on Friday’s running. 

“It was great,” Hamilton said. “I woke up so excited to be in the car.

“P1 was actually a really good session for us. The car was feeling good from the get-go. Great work from everyone at the factory.

“We made some changes from P1 to P2. It wasn’t as good, but it’s good data to have. We’ve got some work to do tonight to see if we can turn it around for tomorrow.”

The seven-time world champion added: “We’re there or thereabouts. Not as quick as the Red Bulls, and obviously the McLarens look really quick.

“McLaren was much quicker in the first sector than us. Particularly on the long run, the tyre is overheating, which I think everyone has had.

“It’s trying to extract the most from the tyres, and getting them into the right window to start your lap.

“We’ve been slow in the first sector but good in the last sector. We’re trying to find the right balance.” 

Asked who he thinks Mercedes’ fight is with, Hamilton replied: “Right with them, hopefully. The Red Bulls are a little quicker, as always. 

“So I don’t anticipate that we’ll easily be able to beat them. But I think we’ll be close.

“We’ll be gunning for as high as possible. It would be great to be in the top three in qualy. It depends on the work we do tonight.”

George Russell had a more difficult day in the other Mercedes, placing outside the top-10 in both sessions.