Hamilton praises his W15 after the best practice day of the season
On the back of a very impressive showing in the opening two practice sessions, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton reckons that his car felt "consistently strong", but his team will need to find more pace on a heavy fuel load.
Lewis Hamilton looked strong from the get-go, displaying an impressive performance both on the medium and the soft compound. The seven-time world champion set the benchmark in the opening practice, posting a time of 1:35.001s on Pirelli's red-walled tyre in the dying moments of the practice.
The Briton went on to impress in the second practice as well, recording a lap time of 1:33.825s to end the day quickest. Reflecting on his practice sessions, Hamilton said that he was enjoying his day behind the wheel of his W15, but he will be eager to find more pace in race trim.
“I felt really good out there today. I think that is the first practice day this year that we’ve been consistently strong, and the car has felt quick throughout. I am really enjoying driving this track and it was nice to put together three good, competitive sectors over the lap.
"Despite topping both sessions, it is difficult to know exactly where we are in the competitive order with everyone running different fuel loads and run plans. Our long run pace didn’t look quite as good as our speed on the single lap.
"We therefore have work to do overnight to try and improve that without compromising our speed for qualifying. I’m hopeful we can still be in the mix tomorrow; I will get some good rest tonight and come back strong.”
His team-mate George Russell also looked mighty quick throughout the day, with the Briton ending up second in the opening practice, just three tenths of a second behind Hamilton.
The two-time F1 race winner managed to carry this fine form over into the second one-hour practice, setting the third-quickest lap with a 1m34.015s.
Reflecting on his experience on the opening day, Russell praised the behaviour of his car, but he has also warned that the pecking order might change significantly due to the track evolution.
“That was a really good day for us as a team. It is still only practice, but it is definitely encouraging. The car has been working from the off and I felt good behind the wheel. Lewis was on it from lap one and did a great job to top both sessions.
"That said, it is a street track and quite a dirty circuit today. As it continues to both clean up and grip up, I am sure it will continue to evolve. It is likely that the times will be three seconds or so quicker come qualifying tomorrow.
"We will therefore pick through the data overnight to understand exactly why we were so strong and how we can continue to make improvements too. It is clear others will take a step forward so we will have to be at our best if we want to challenge at the front again on Friday," concluded Russell.
