Lewis Hamilton warned of 'vicious cycle' Mercedes are battling to overcome this season

Mercedes have a "huge problem" to fix with Emerson Fittipaldi warning Lewis Hamilton just how much work needs to be done to catch Red Bull and Ferrari. Ahead of pre-season testing, Mercedes were the team to beat having just clinched their eighth consecutive Constructors' Championship.

But regulation changes this year have seen the Silver Arrows fall behind their rivals with both Red Bull and Ferrari far out in front. Last time out in Saudi Arabia, Hamilton failed to get out from Q1 after trying a different set-up on his car.

The seven-time world champion only managed to move up to 10th in Sunday's race, with George Russell finishing fifth. There is still a huge gap to both Red Bull and Ferrari though with major upgrades needed to close in.

The cars will take to the track on Friday where Mercedes will hope to see some improvements. But Fittipaldi has warned Hamilton that Mercedes are currently in a "vicious cycle" which they're struggling to get out of.

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"Mercedes engines are down. They suffered a lot of performance in the first two Grands Prix," he told VegasInsider. "We know all the Mercedes teams are having a difficult time.

"Lewis Hamilton had a great race in Bahrain where he got the podium. With that car, Lewis should not be on the podium. They are struggling. The speed on the stretch is much lower. When you have less power from the engine, you sacrifice the aerodynamics. And then it's a compromise of handling, as well.

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"Then you go into a vicious circle. You don't have enough speed on the stretch, you take off some downforce, and then you lose on the corners and then it's always a difficult compromise. And the one who has a lot of power