World champion Lewis Hamilton said Thursday he suspects Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel is holding something back heading into this weekend's season-opening Australian Formula One race in Melbourne.
Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg swept all before them last season winning 16 of the 19 races as the German constructor locked up back-to-back world titles and Vettel's Ferrari trailed in a distant third in the drivers' list.
Hamilton admitted that he suspected Ferrari were closer than Vettel has been indicating.
"I think this year the whole pack looks like it's a little bit closer but personally I think they (Ferrari) have something up their sleeve for this weekend," Hamilton told the official media conference.
"I think the Ferraris are going to be a lot closer than they talk about."
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: