Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes has a “good foundation to build on” after completing his first full day sampling the team’s revised 2024 Formula 1 car in pre-season testing.
Mercedes has undergone a complete revamp on its W15 challenger as it bids to dial out the “spiteful” rear-end characteristics of its troubled predecessor from last season.
George Russell gave a positive assessment from the opening day of pre-season running in Bahrain, citing how the car felt “nicer to drive” than its inconsistent W14 creation.
Hamilton, who will depart Mercedes for Ferrari next season, has echoed his team-mate’s comments and is encouraged with the platform Mercedes has set this term.
The seven-time champion completed a sizeable total of 123 laps and rose into the top three on the timesheets with a run on the C3 compound as the sun set on the track.
While he was 1.1s adrift of Carlos Sainz’s benchmark time, the Ferrari driver posted his effort on the softer C4 tyre, with fuel loads and engine modes remaining unspecified.
“It was a productive day out there,” Hamilton said. “We gathered lots of learnings about the W15, both in our long-running and single-lap work.
“We’ve clearly made an improvement with this year’s car and it’s much nicer to drive.
“A big thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth for the efforts they’ve put in to deliver that over the past year. I’m really grateful for all their hard work.
“We’ve still got progress to make of course. But this is a good foundation for us to build on.
“We’ll keep our heads down and continue to work to find improvements, both over the rest of the test and into next week.
“I’m looking forward to being back in the car tomorrow morning and continuing that learning.”
Hamilton will be back behind the wheel of the W15 for the final time ahead of the first race tomorrow morning, with Russell to conclude Mercedes’ running later on.
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