Mercedes have some work to do in Singapore if they're to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari this weekend according to Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton finished seven-tenths adrift of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in second practice, with Max Verstappen between them. Although Ferrari were well down on the pace in the evening, Sebastian Vettel was three-tenths quicker in first practice.
"We had a clean day and got through our sessions without problems," said Hamilton.
"It was pretty hot out there, the conditions are pretty awesome to cope with, but the grip on the track is fairly good.
"We were obviously close with the field today and we have still got some improvements to make with the car. Red Bull seem like they’re very strong and they’re thereabouts with Ferrari, so we’ve got some work to do. But nothing is out of reach."
Bottas agreed with Hamilton's sentiments, but is hopeful that the gap can be closed before Saturday's qualifying session.
"This was a difficult day for us, I think we are missing some pace," added the Fin..
"We were making big setup changes between the first and the second session, but still didn’t quite find the right setting.
"There is plenty of work to do from what we learned today. I was struggling with the overall grip and the balance of the car. The car felt quite nervous, so it’s not so easy to trust the car when you push. That’s the main thing we need to work on so that I can build up my level of confidence."
