“One of our worst practice sessions.” Lewis Hamilton doesn't mince words: eighteenth in the day's standings and zero laps in race configuration. Mercedes didn't start the Melbourne weekend in the best way, but although the car didn't respond as expected, in Hamilton's case the work program managed to further complicate everything. “In the second free practice session on Lewis' car we made a set-up change which proved dramatic,” commented Toto Wolff.
At Mercedes they are trying to take all possible paths. The first bottom used in the pre-season tests in Bahrain also reappeared today, but the clock doesn't seem to move. George Russell (spared from bringing experimental setups onto the track) finished the qualifying simulation in sixth place, then confirming Mercedes as the fifth force in terms of race pace.
“Every now and then things seem to go better on the fastest lap – admitted Wolff – but in general we lack performance. For this reason we are trying different paths, but it doesn't seem like we have yet found the miracle solution that helps us take the right direction.”
“In FP1 I felt quite good with the car – commented Hamilton in a low voice – actually the first lap I tested this car I had a good feeling, but then it got worse and worse. Today's FP2 session was the one in which I had the least confidence in the car, but in the morning session it was better, so we'll start from there.”
Valtteri Bottas, Kick Sauber C44, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Hamilton is undoubtedly the most experienced driver in the team, and as such it is on him that the Mercedes technicians prefer to try extreme setups, but Lewis is starting to not like a role that involves a significant waste of time, as happened today in Melbourne.
Wolff tries to keep morale high: “We have to keep trying, we have already seen the performance of this car in other situations. I don't want to say that we are not good with these regulations, we have everything we need to overcome this moment, and we will.” In a very delicate moment for the team, Russell seems to be more courageous in adapting to a car with unpredictable reactions.
“We made some changes in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain – explained George – but we are still trying to understand this car better, every single lap is so precious, you learn more and more. Obviously this evening we will have the entire team in the factory working on the simulator, let's see what we can come up with from the analyses.”
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