After setting the pace in the first two practice sessions at 2015 F1 Chinese Grand Prix here on Friday, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton is satisfied with his Mercedes car and believes they have the pace to stay ahead.

"Today was definitely an improvement on Friday in Malaysia," said the 30-year-old Briton, referring to the engine issue that curtailed his running in the first practice in Malaysia two weeks ago.

"It was good to get both sessions in and that puts me in a stronger position. The team has done an amazing job to find some improvements in the car. Balance-wise it's way better than the last race and it was generally feeling really good," said Hamilton "I don't know how long I went on each compound but it felt good on the long and short runs. The prime perhaps didn't feel as good as the option but I'll have to go and analyse the data to see where we are compared to the others."

Hamilton sit on top of the times list with a fastest one minute 39.033 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg on Friday morning and continued to improve his fastest lap to 1:37.219 in the afternoon, with Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland trailing less than half a second.

"It was quite close between us and Ferrari. They look just as fast as they were last time out and Nico was quick as well, so we definitely have a race on. But I feel like I've got some improvements to make and I think we've got the pace to stay ahead," Hamilton added.

Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, chose to stay low before the qualifying session on Saturday. When asked whether he would fight for the pole position with Mercedes, Vettel said: "They were very strong today. For us the most important thing is to make a step forward, there are a few things that we can improve."

The Chinese Grand Prix is the third race in F1 2015 calendar. Hamilton enjoyed the pole position in both of the previous two races.

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