Hamilton: Ferrari are very strong

Lewis Hamilton has suggested Ferrari is the early favourite for the Chinese Grand Prix after they topped the second practice session in Shanghai.

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished ahead of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, giving them hope of a first win of the season on Sunday.

Hamilton thinks their pace is real and admits he faces a tough task to score a podium in the race after he was handed a five-place grid penalty,

"I think the numbers are real but we shall see," said Hamilton.

"I haven't spoken to the engineers but that's my assumption.

"The Ferraris are particularly strong so it looks like we're going to have a real fight this weekend.

"I'm behind them. It means that it's going to be harder to overtake them so getting into the top three is going to be hard on Sunday for sure.

"It seems that we're going to have a bigger fight than we ever have, so it should be good for the fans."

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