Sebastian Vettel expects to be closer to Mercedes in the Spanish Grand Prix but admits it will be tough to beat after qualifying third on Saturday.
Nico Rosberg took pole position by 0.3s from team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with Vettel ending up 0.8s slower than Rosberg's time. Despite the big gap and long run pace on Friday which looked to be adrift of Mercedes, Vettel says he is hopeful of a more competitive showing in Sunday's race.
"Being realistic, they are quick," Vettel said. "They are not on pole and second by chance. They showed in every single session this weekend they are quick on either tyre, so I expect them to be very strong tomorrow. But I hope we can be closer, in the past races usually we were a bit closer in race pace but being realistic I think it will be difficult to beat them."
However, Vettel says he is not disheartened by the gap to Mercedes, expecting it to retain an advantage in Spain.
"I hope it's going to be better in the race. I think we expected them to be very, very strong here because in winter testing they were very strong and I'm sure they've improved their car since then. But I think the conditions are completely different so we will see.
"It's true that the gap is there. The gap is probably a little bit bigger than it was in the last few races. I don't think that's down to one thing only, I think there's always a lot of things you throw in the bag. Maybe we are struggling a little bit more this weekend but I am looking forward to seeing where we are tomorrow."
Click here for Saturday's gallery from the Spanish Grand Prix
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