"You have to take any advantage you can get", said Hamilton, ahead of this Sunday's floodlit night race at the Sakhir International Circuit where he will be seeking his third win at the track in four years, following Rosberg's triumph last year.
"We are working so hard and so are Ferrari", said Hamilton, fresh from his victory in China last weekend.
The 2017 Formula One season has seen two races already, the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix, and it's clear now that the title will most likely be fought between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
For Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari, the heat did prove to be a little too much, as smoke started to pillar out of the back of his vehicle.
The German was only 0.041 seconds quicker than Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.
It could have been much worse for Vettel, who appeared in significant trouble midway through the second session after reporting a problem with his Ferrari.
Constructors 1. Mercedes - 66 points 2.
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With that said, DeHaan says we should expect gas to top $3/gal.in the Pacific Northwest over the next couple of weeks. The agency says it believes gas will rise to an average this year of $2.39 a gallon, up from $2.15 in 2016.
Using the super-soft compound tyre, Vettel set the overall fastest time of 1:31.310, but without setting the best time in any of the three sectors - underlining just how close it is at the front. The lap was ruined, and his subsequent effort ended up 0.284s shy of Vettel's and 0.243s off his team-mate's before he focused on race-trim runs. "The vehicle feels good on one lap, I think it was quite OK, long run I think we might be a bit behind".
Hamilton aborted his first lap, was blocked by Renault's Nico Hulkenberg on the next and finally nailed a time on his third attempt, when the edge would have gone from the rubber. "These drivers are just so risky", the Briton said over the team radio, with both drivers later summoned to see the stewards.
Canadian driver Lance Stroll was 16th in the second session after finishing sixth in the first practice.
For Raikkonen it has been rather a mixed start, as he has witnessed Vettel conquered the opener in Australia as well as finished second the previous weekend in China.
In the first practice, Hamilton saved his pace and did not push for a leading time.
Second practice is the only free practice session held under the floodlights in Bahrain, meaning the conditions are as close as the teams get to Saturday evening's qualifying and Sunday evening's race.
The race will also see the return of Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein, who has missed two races due to fitness issues, and of former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, attending a race for the first time since his ouster by Liberty Media. Raikkonen, whose nickname is "Iceman", eventually hitched a lift the rest of the way on a scooter. Meanwhile, Ferrari said the auto problem was overheating in the turbo area.
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