F1 dirver Hamilton says Ferrari hard to beat

Briton Lewis Hamilton said Friday that he believes it will be very difficult for his McLaren team to match or beat the dominant Ferraris in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old McLaren driver said he was confident his team would make progress in solving balance problems they have with his car, but was not optimistic it would be enough for him to anticipate scoring his second win of the year.

Hamilton was aiming to bounce back to form after a dismal weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but wound up in 11th position in practice.

His team failed to find the right balance for his car despite trying many different settings.

Kimi Raikkonen, the early season leader of the drivers championship and defending champion, topped both sessions.

Hamilton said: "I wouldn't say I'm more optimistic, but I wouldn't say I'm worried. I think we just have to work hard, put our heads down, and try to find the right balance.

"But it's very, very hard when you have two practice sessions when you maybe get 20 laps and you have to fight the correct balance of the car.

"Especially when the wind is picking up and changing. It makes it very hard. I'm still pushing very, very hard for victory, but Ferrari will be very, very hard to beat.

"And the other teams are looking very quick as well. Obviously tomorrow will be another day. We still have a very strong package and we are going to be competing at the front with everyone else."

He said he did not believe that Friday's time indicated any true form for the teams.

"We don't do light runs in P2, so P11 doesn't really mean anything," he said.

"But it was still a hard session for us. Last week when we tested, the first day the car was perfect.

"And then we come here and it's completely different. You have to change the set-up. It's quite an interesting circuit.

"The first long run we did was quite positive, I thought. We made so many changes and the last long run was not so good, so we sort of have an idea of where we need to be going."