Lewis Hamilton gives update on Mercedes progress in Canada after Monaco GP disaster

Lewis Hamilton concedes that Mercedes are still behind Ferrari after finishing behind Kimi Raikkonen in the second free practice session (FP2) at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday (9 June).

But the Briton feels that Mercedes are back on track in terms of car performance after a difficult weekend at the last race in Monaco, when the Italian team was clearly superior. Hamilton finished in seventh place and teammate Valtteri Bottas had to settle for fourth place.

Sebastian Vettel went on to take the win and extend his lead over his title rival to 25 points. Canada, however, is a completely different circuit compared to the tight and twisty street circuit in Monte Carlo and Hamilton believes it will be close between the two leading teams both in the race and qualifying.

"It's been a pretty good first day for the team," Hamilton said, as quoted by Sky Sports. "The Ferraris are looking fast here and as the times show, it's super close at the top right now."

"I feel like we are still just a little bit behind the red cars at this early stage of the weekend, but we'll be pushing as hard as we can to close the gap ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

"After a tough weekend in Monaco, the main thing is that our car is already feeling a lot better around Montreal. It should be game on for the rest of the weekend," the Briton added.

Vettel, meanwhile, is expecting more performance from the Ferrari after admitting that he was struggling with the car on Friday. The German driver spun his car on a couple of occasions, however, he was not the only driver to do so, as a number of drivers had off-track moments on a circuit that was low on grip.

"Today was a bit mixed. I had a couple of spins and I was fighting with the car a bit, but in the end I understood what we need, what the car needs and what I need to do. I think it should be a better day tomorrow," Vettel explained after setting the third fastest time in FP2.