Hamilton: ‘Very close Ferrari are bluffing’

Lewis Hamilton thinks Ferrari have plenty more up their sleeve despite outpacing the Mercedes on Day Seven of testing in Barcelona.

Sebastian Vettel showed plenty of speed on all three different soft compounds, culminating in a 1:19.024 on ultrasofts during the morning session on Thursday.

Hamilton responded with his best time of testing so far and the third fastest overall with a 1:19.352, also on ultras, but believes there is still a lot more to come from the Scuderia.

“I think Ferrari are bluffing,” Hamilton told reporters.

“I think they are a lot quicker than they are showing. They’re very close to us. It’s difficult right now to say exactly [which team] is quicker. But they are very close, if not faster.

“Whatever the case, I can’t wait to go out and compete.”

Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will split duties on the eighth and final day of testing on Friday, while Kimi Raikkonen will be in the Ferrari for both sessions.