Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted Brawn GP cars possessed certain advantages yesterday, but refused to comment on the legality of the F1 leader's controversial technological breakthrough.

"The Brawn team did a fantastic job," Hamilton said yesterday in Shanghai ahead of the Shanghai Grand Prix on Saturday.

"They are way ahead of everyone else because they started to develop their car way before everyone else.

"It will take some time to catch up," he added.

Jenson Button steered the Brawn GP car to victory in the first two races of the season.

But the F1 then took a different turn when Ferrari, Red Bull, Renault and BMW-Sauber appealed against stewards' ruling in Australia and Malaysia that the rear diffusers used by Brawn, Toyota and Williams were legal.

The verdict released by FIA yesterday endorsed the stewards' verdict.

Although, like Brawn GP, Hamilton's McLaren team is using a Mercedes engines, the reigning world champs have had a forgettable year to date.

The team was stripped of its constrictor points after finishing third in the season-opener in Australia for "deliberately misleading race stewards to gain an advantage" and then finished seventh in Malaysia.

The failures make for the worst start in Hamilton's three-year Formula One career.

He had the most successful rookie season ever in 2007 with consecutive podium finishes in his first nine races, although he narrowly missed out on the title by two points in the final rankings.

In 2008, he also won the first stop in Australia in a perfect start en route to claiming the world champion title. But the sport's youngest world champion is not discouraged by his current predicament.

"I don't think it's been as bad as it seems, because the car is really not great at the moment," said the 24-year-old Briton.

"Last year at this time, when I was leading in the championship, it looked much better. But we have ups and downs as humans and as a team. I don't think the approach is different, but we have to work as hard as we can to get back to the top."

Hamilton said he is looking forward to the Shanghai GP, where he won to secure his title last year.

Off the circuit, the star driver is also ready to be welcomed by his Chinese fans.

Mobil 1, a McLaren team partner, kicked off a series of interactive customer initiatives in China to coincide with Hamilton's visit.

A roadshow will feature a replica of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing car he drives, as well as a series of interactive educational displays and programs, including extreme temperature engine demonstrations, synthetic oil education and motorsport racing games.

(China Daily April 16, 2009)