Hakkinen doesn't expect much from Mercedes

© Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Mika Hakkinen doesn't believe Mercedes, going by their Jerez pre-season form, will be a match for McLaren this season.

The Finnish champion admitted it was too early to predict what the grid might look like in Australia when the season kicks-off, but he isn't expecting Mercedes to challenge the top teams - of which he believes his former employer to be amongst.

"To be honest the first test of the season is always a little bit of a gamble," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"You don't get the 100 per cent picture of the performance of the car, so it is a little bit early to say.

"I have a strong feeling McLaren is in top form this year. Like we saw in testing in Jerez, the Mercedes was not exactly up to the speed I expected them to be, so I don't see them competing too much this year."

However, BBC technical analyst and former designer Gary Anderson, having crunched the numbers, believes Mercedes might be better off than expected.

He predicts the form, after Jerez, sees McLaren at the front, closely followed by Ferrari and Mercedes, both of which are ahead of Red Bull.

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