Lewis Hamilton Shares Bad News: "Couple of Difficult Days"
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by the team during pre-season testing in Bahrain, although the team are still suffering from some problems on the W14.
According to Hamilton, the issues with porpoising, a problem that caused the car to bounce up and down on the track, have been resolved. However, he acknowledged that there is still work to be done in other areas to keep up with their rivals.
Hamilton and his teammate George Russell began testing in a low-key manner, focusing on steadily completing laps with their new W14 car. In contrast, their competitors Red Bull and Ferrari were exchanging fastest lap times on the track.
The team's testing efforts were hindered on the second day of testing when Russell had to stop due to a hydraulics failure, resulting in Mercedes missing out on some critical running time during the twilight hours.
Reflecting on the team's performance so far, Hamilton noted that Russell's incident added to the challenging start of the test for Mercedes. While they appear to have resolved their bouncing issues, Hamilton recognises that there are still limitations in other areas where they need to make progress in order to keep up with their rivals.
Asked about Mercedes’ test so far, Hamilton said:
“I think it’s difficult to sum it up. I think we’ve had a couple of difficult days – yesterday particularly was difficult. The first day didn’t feel too bad, [but] yesterday was a little bit more of a struggle.
“I think George has had a much better morning today [in P2], like the first day. I get to go in [for the afternoon], so hopefully we’ve got the set-up in a bit of a better place.”
Hamilton was asked if he thought the issues from last year had been sorted. He responded:
“Right now, for example, the bouncing that we had has pretty much gone, so that’s a huge step for us. It’s nice to drive without the bouncing for once, but there are still some underlying things that we’re working through.
“Some of the balance limitations that we had last year are present – we’re working through them. [But] I’m really proud of everyone in the team for continuing to remain positive after a tough year last year, [doing] amazing through the winter for us to drive and have the mileage that we’ve had.”