SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Lewis Hamilton is convinced Mercedes is in the mix with Ferrari at the Belgian Grand Prix despite his team's significant disadvantage in engine power.
Ferrari has not won a race yet in 2019 but Spa is the first of two races at power-sensitive circuits. The Italian team is expected to be strongest this weekend and it stayed true to form on Friday.
Charles Leclerc capped an impressive opening day for Ferrari, finishing 0.6 seconds quicker than teammate Sebastian Vettel and almost a full second clear of the nearest Mercedes. The red cars' advantage came in the first and third sector, made up primarily of long straights, while Mercedes clawed back lap time through the more twisty middle sector.