Lewis Hamilton: “Today felt pretty good considering it was my first time in the new car. My initial feelings are pretty positive, despite going through a long, tough programme of initial tests – there were no nasty surprises, which is pleasing.
“This year’s car feels a bit different from last year’s: in 2011, we had so much stability from the rear-end, particularly in the high-speed corners – but we’re now having to find that grip elsewhere, or, at least, take grip off the front and somehow offload it at the rear.
“This car’s baseline is something we can really work with. I know the men and women back at the factory will take a lot from this test and translate it into something new and even better for the next test. The car feels reasonably quick – and that’s a nice feeling.
“Bringing Didier Coton onboard [with my management team] is one of the steps I’ve taking to keep myself 100 per cent focused on my main goal of winning the world championship. Didier’s got a huge amount of racing experience and will really strengthen my management team – he’s been a good friend of mine for many years, and has great experience with the team and the Formula 1 paddock. He’ll be there when I need him.”
