F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Texts Race Engineer, Desperate To Beat Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton is desperate to beat Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday after finishing behind Sebastian Vettel in the opening two rounds of the 2018 Formula 1 season in Australia and Bahrain.

Reigning champions Mercedes were favorites to again be the dominant team coming into the new season, but are yet to win a race. Hamilton was leading in Australia before a computer glitch for Mercedes and a fortunate virtual safety car handed the race on a platter to Vettel, while in Bahrain the Italian team were clearly superior as the Mercedes struggled with the high temperatures on the desert circuit.

The Silver Arrows team did have a chance during the race in Bahrain after they switched to a one-stop strategy, but Ferrari’s German driver managed it brilliantly at the front to finish just ahead of Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The F1 juggernaut has arrived in China just one week after the Bahrain Grand Prix and Mercedes are desperate to open their account for the season. The Brackley-based team have been dominant at the Shanghai International Circuit in recent years and it is one of Hamilton’s favorite tracks with the Briton having won on five occasions in the past.

The four-time F1 drivers’ world champion is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for his first victory and revealed he had texted his race engineer Peter Bonnington fondly known as Bono within the team to rally the troops in order to finish ahead of Ferrari.

"I texted my engineer Bono and said we need to win this weekend, we can't have any excuses, we've got to somehow pull together, go leaps and bounds to make sure we finish ahead of Ferrari, so I believe that we can do that," Hamilton said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, as quoted on CNN.

Hamilton’s second and third place finishes in the first two races to Vettel’s double win has left him 17-points behind in the title race. He admitted recently his thoughts were on the championship, but made it clear he has no worries as it is just the third race in what is a 21-race campaign.

The Mercedes continued their dominance in China as the British driver topped both the practice sessions Friday, but the Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel were not far behind with the top four drivers covered by a tenth of a second.

The Ferrari’s were quicker in the third practice session Saturday morning, but the entire grid is aware Mercedes have higher power mode when qualifying comes around. Hamilton will be hoping everything comes together Saturday, but more importantly Sunday when the points are awarded

"This (Chinese Grand Prix) is the third race so I don't have any worries, that's a weakness that an athlete can never allow to enter their mind," Hamilton added talking about the championship. “ So I'm not worried at all, I just know that I have to work hard, keep working harder, building on the rapport of my team.”

"We've got the team, we have the abilities and capabilities, it's just about putting our minds to it and pulling together,” the Mercedes driver said.