SUZUKA, Japan -- Lewis Hamilton admits he was surprised to see such a gap between himself and the rest of the field after Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion was in a class of his own to lead Mercedes one-twos in both sessions as Ferrari and Red Bull failed to match his pace. Teammate Valtteri Bottas was just under half a second adrift in both sessions while in FP2 title-rival Sebastian Vettel ensured he would be the quickest non-Mercedes by finishing third fastest but still 0.833s off the pace.
Hamilton, who is searching for a fourth consecutive win in Formula One, said "definitely not" when asked if he expected to be enjoying such an advantage over his rivals after the opening two practice sessions.