Hamilton believes testing "the perfect time" for Mercedes problems

Lewis Hamilton is adamant he is not worried by the issues suffered by Mercedes in Formula 1 pre-season testing.

Hamilton heads into the forthcoming season with the opportunity of becoming the F1's first eight-time champion.

Mercedes, however, suffered a number of setbacks across the three days of testing, with Hamilton himself making a rare error on Saturday when beaching his W12 in the gravel, while spinning again in Sunday's session as he geared up for a quick run.

“I think it is better when it doesn’t go smoothly," said Hamilton. "It’s better it doesn’t go smooth now but does when we get into the racing scene. “This is the perfect time for us to find the issues and have the problems so I welcome that and I think everyone is just keeping their heads down. No-one is particularly phased by it.

“We’re a multi-championship winning team and we know how to pull together and keep our head down and focus on the job."

A gearshift issue confined team-mate Valtteri Bottas to the garage for three hours of a four-hour session on Friday, but asked if the troubles concerned him, he replied: “Worried? No.

“I don’t waste time worrying. I’m just determined to find solutions so we are working hard and focusing on getting through this short amount of testing we have and being as efficient as possible with it."

Shifting the focus to the pace of his rivals, with Red Bull appearing particularly quick, Hamilton continued: "It is without doubt impressive to see the speed of some of the other teams.

“I think Red Bull are looking strong and it’s great to see McLaren looking strong, also Alpine. I’m excited because that means more fun.”

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