Mercedes' engineers believe Ferrari have drawn level with Mercedes in terms of outright power in qualifying, according to Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton outqualified the Ferraris by more than 0.6s at the opening round in Australia, leading to speculation around Mercedes engine settings [LINK TO NATE's PIECE ON ENGINE MODES]. But Hamilton says the data Mercedes' engineers gathered from the first race puts the Ferrari power output at the same level as their own engine.
"They said in qualifying, they think power-wise we are equal to them, so they have made a really big improvement," Hamilton said. "They feel in the race, we might have a slight edge on them.