Lewis Hamilton believes Red Bull's superior power unit will make it "hard to compete" in the United States GP, such is Ferrari's deficit.
Hamilton will start fifth in Austin, and at the tail of the Red Bull-Ferrari group, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both ahead of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, with Kimi Antonelli on pole.
A major issue with the SF-26 all season has been its lack of top-end straight line speed, brought about by Ferrari's initial decision to opt for a small turbo, which, whilst providing excellent slow-speed drivability, lacks pure grunt.
In contrast, Red Bull's first in-house power unit has been adjudged by the FIA's ADUO process as the best ICE on the grid, with the unit particularly strong in a straight line.
With both Ferraris set to start behind both Red Bulls, Hamilton, whilst expressing how difficult it was to overtake at the Circuit of the Americas, predicted it would be "hard to compete" with the power of the Red Bulls.
"We're fourth and fifth, and it is very hard to overtake here," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.
"If you are P2 on the grid, it's hard to beat someone since 2012, and it took a lot to get past [Sebastian] Vettel back then, but maybe with strategy we can progress.
"We can get a good run up to Turn 1, and there are opportunities with the strategy, so we shall see."
Turning to the Red Bull advantage on the straights, Hamilton added that he felt it was "hard to compete with" the RBPT-Ford power unit.
"I mean it varies, and I haven't seen the actual numbers this weekend, but [on Saturday morning], I think it was like three-tenths [advantage on the straights]," he said.
"In some places, it is three-to-five tenths but maybe four tenths, and it is pretty impressive.
"On the overlays, our engine starts clipping into Turn 1, and theirs just keeps going, so that's hard to compete with.
"If we had the same power as them, we'd be right there in the battle, and we know that's the case so we will try to make the best we can now."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look ahead to this weekend's United States Grand Prix! Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari being urged to have a deep conversation is a big discussion, as is all three believing Max Verstappen is the favourite this weekend.
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