‘The car’s feeling really great’ – Hamilton hails Mercedes’ performance after topping the timesheets on Friday in Barcelona
Lewis Hamilton was pleased with how his Mercedes performed after going fastest during second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, with the seven-time world champion crediting changes made after FP1 with the step forwards.
Following on from their strongest weekend of the year last time out in Canada, the Silver Arrows looked to again be in good form on Friday in Barcelona. Hamilton set the pace with a time of 1m 13.264s in FP2, putting him just two-hundredths of a second clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
While the 39-year-old praised the feel of the W15 in the session, he also suggested that the team still has further work to do in order to remain in the battle at the front throughout the remainder of the weekend.
“P1 was so-so,” Hamilton reflected at the end of Friday’s running. “I went one direction with the car, we learned quite a lot in that session. And then P2 definitely felt quite a bit better. I think we made some good changes and the car’s feeling really great today.
“Very hot, the track, very tough for the tires, especially in the long runs, but it doesn’t feel like we’re too far off. I won’t really take too much notice of lap times necessarily, but I think the car’
“I think we’ve got some work to do to improve it overnight and to see if we can hold onto the Red Bulls and the Ferraris and the McLarens.”
Pushed further on what could be possible on Saturday and Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Hamilton credited the team for their work in continuing to develop the W15.
“Everyone at the factory’s been working so hard, as they are every year, but I think having more of a North Star, we’ve got a much better understanding of where we want to go with the car,” the British driver commented.
“And I think the incremental steps that they’ve been taking – everyone’s been working so hard with building components and bringing them consistently rather than big chunks here and there, and for that, I’m really grateful. And you’re starting to see that in how comfortable we are as drivers in the car, so it’s awesome.”
