'Others just took another step' – Hamilton reflects on Ferrari's performance in Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice

Lewis Hamilton believes "others just took another step" forward during Thursday practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Ferrari needing to find more performance if they are to challenge.

Hamilton and Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc looked competitive during Free Practice 1 in Baku, the pair finishing third and fourth but only four tenths away from the top time having used the medium Pirelli tyre.

By the second session however, that margin had expanded to 1.1 seconds for Leclerc in fourth, with Hamilton a further two tenths behind in fifth.

"FP1 felt really strong, continuous laps, I thought we were doing pretty well," said Hamilton. "And then FP2, for some reason, the others just took another step. And it’s trying to understand... We didn’t really change anything on the car, but the others took a step somehow.

"These tyres are really, really difficult to get to work. You do an out lap and a prep lap, and they still are not in the window, or they still don’t provide you with the grip. And when you do an extra lap, all of a sudden they switch on, and all of a sudden you have tons more grip.

"So that’s a really fine line and really difficult to get working. We’re trying our best, and some teams do it better than others. So we’ve got to look into that. I think that’s part of it.

"And then our straight-line speed is not as good as Mercedes. Whether or not we can close that deficit tomorrow is what I will try and work on tonight."

Despite looking like Mercedes' closest challenger at times this season, Ferrari have failed to match the German manufacturer of late, falling behind McLaren in the general pecking order.

With its long straights but slow corners, the Baku circuit offers a unique challenge on the F1 calendar, with Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur aware of how Ferrari have struggled at the venue in the past.

"It’s difficult to read. Honestly, the McLaren was very quick, but they didn’t finish the lap. You will need to have a good slipstream, and not to be impeded during the middle part [of the lap]," he said.

"It’s difficult, Baku, [as] we know. If you have a look at last year, we were in a very good shape and we finished 10th and 11th, I think, in Qualifying. Let’s be focused on what we have to do and try to extract the best."