Hamilton delivers verdict on Mercedes upgrades

Lewis Hamilton during FP2 in Spain — Photo: © LAT Images

Spanish Grand Prix

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Hamilton delivers verdict on Mercedes upgrades

Mercedes finished two and three in FP2

Ewan Gale

Friday 20 May 2022 18:50 Updated: 18:55

Lewis Hamilton has declared himself "super happy" with Mercedes' progress from its upgrades at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The seven-time F1 champion finished Friday's practice third-quickest, two-tenths-of-a-second slower than current leader Charles Leclerc and with Mercedes team-mate George Russell splitting the pair.

The most significant improvement for the Silver Arrows is the fact the W13 no longer porpoises in a straight line.

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The team will now be hoping the promise shown does not disappear as it did in Miami a fortnight ago when Russell's fastest FP2 time translated into 12th on the grid.

Asked for his thoughts on an improved day for the team, Hamilton replied: "Positive, super happy with the progress.

"A big, big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for not giving up, continuing to push.

"We are not the quickest but we are on our way. It is the first time I have driven down the straight without bouncing. We still have some bouncing but it is way better so we are starting to eke into a bit of the potential.

"It is still tough out there in the car but it is much nicer than it has been before. So really grateful for those upgrades, now it is just trying to tune them into the next session to try to position the car.

"I think we can get it into an even better position tomorrow so hopefully we can tackle the heels of the guys ahead."

Russell details Mecredes changes

Whilst the porpoising has been an issue for Mercedes due to its continuation into the braking zones in the opening five races, the lack of bouncing has allowed Russell and Hamilton to attack the apexes more.

But as Hamilton alluded to, bouncing remains through high-speed corners and cutting a more cautious demeanour when asked if he was happy with his running, Russell responded: "I don't know to be honest because in Miami we were quickest on Friday and obviously here we are second.

"Let's see. The car is definitely reacting differently, we have different limitations this time.

"We definitely don't have the porpoising in the straight which is good but we are still experiencing a bit here and there in the corners which ultimately, you need to dial it out in the corners.

"I think Red Bull still look very, very strong, they look the team to be reckoned with at the moment. We need to go through the data."