Lewis Hamilton says his initial impression of the Mercedes W04 is a positive one, but he admits he’ll be asking the team for more downforce.
The former-McLaren driver completed just under 60 laps before lunchtime on Friday – the final day of testing in Jerez – giving him time to assess the car following his crash on Wednesday which saw him complete just 15 laps.
Hamilton believes they have a “good foundation” to work on at the next couple of tests ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
“We have some work to do but it doesn’t feel like a disaster,” he told reporters. “We’re not starting in a bad place. I feel like we have a good platform and a good foundation to work on. I’m definitely going to keep on asking for downforce and hope the guys do a great job.
“We’ve been able to get the tyres working on the first lap, which they struggled to do last year, but obviously it’s quite warm and the track temperature is quite high. I think it’s not a bad place for us to start. We definitely need to work and understand the car more, there’s a huge amount of work for me to do to fully understand the car before the season.”
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