Lewis Hamilton is leaving the Circuito de Jerez in a positive frame of mind following his first official test as a Mercedes driver. The Briton, who has moved from rivals McLaren, says the team is where it 'would have hoped to be' with its new car.
Although the Brackley-based squad suffered a troublesome start to its pre-season testing programme with car failures on both Nico Rosberg and Hamilton's opening days in the F1 W04, the latter enjoyed a smooth run to a total of 145 laps on Friday.
"I think we are probably at the level we would have hoped to be," said Hamilton. "The team has done a great job to add downforce to the car over the winter and they now need Nico and me to tell them where we can improve and the direction we need to go.
"Everybody has been incredibly supportive. I am really building a good bond with the team; they feel energised, ready to go and are working flat out to move us forward."
Despite their initial problems, Hamilton and Nico Rosberg racked up a total of 322 laps at Jerez this week, equating to more than four and a half Grand Prix distances.
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  K. Raikkonen | 01:18.148 | 83 |
| 2. | J. Bianchi | 01:18.175 | 56 |
| 3. | S. Vettel | 01:18.565 | 96 |
| 4. | E. Gutiérrez | 01:18.669 | 142 |
| 5. | J. Vergne | 01:18.760 | 92 |
| 6. | L. Hamilton | 01:18.905 | 145 |
| 7. | S. Perez | 01:18.944 | 98 |
| 8. | V. Bottas | 01:19.851 | 92 |
| 9. | P. de la Rosa | 01:20.316 | 51 |
| 10. | C. Pic | 01:21.105 | 109 |
| Full results | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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