“To get it to perform as well as it has with the least amount of problems, the guys have done a great job”.
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“In the first day we have already done more than 60 laps which is very encouraging for us”.
And while it was Sebastian Vettel, the four-time world champion, who topped the order for the second successive day, it is Mercedes who have delivered a stark warning to their rivals ahead of the new season which starts next month in Australia.
“It had been such a successful season and you can’t win them all, so that was my feeling at the end of the year”.
Reflecting on the final three grands prix of last season, Hamilton said: “If anything, it motivated me”.
However, Grosjean did say his first impressions of the vehicle were “great” and expressed his optimism the failure would not badly disrupt the team’s programme. One of the most eagerly awaited cars was the new Silver Arrow from Mercedes AMG Petronas, the reigning world champion. The new Haas team are U.S.-owned but have their European base in England.
McLaren’s pace wasn’t the only thing lacking last season – excitement was close to non-existent.
Sebastian Vettel of Germany drives the new Ferrari F1 vehicle during a testing session at the the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo just outside of Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016.
Rosberg ran 81 laps prior to the lunch break, and proceeded to run 91 more in the afternoon.
Lewis Hamilton will take back over the driving duties from Rosberg for the third day of pre-season testing tomorrow.
McLaren recorded a solid 35 laps with Jenson Button at the wheel, which will please the British garage after their disastrous performance at this stage last season.
However, having enjoyed his time off during the winter, Hamilton is eager for more in Formula One’s longest-ever 21 race schedule in 2016.
Renault, meanwhile, struggled on return to the Formula 1 circuit as a constructor but the Mercedes-powered Williams looked solid, as did Red Bull. I wouldn’t spend my money to take my family to watch a race. Five cars, namely the Red Bull, Renault, Force India, Toro Rosso and MRT (ie Manor), had not even been seen online in picture form before today.
And it is the recent dominance of the German team which Ecclestone believes is one of the major problems with F1.
Hamilton’s dominant Mercedes team have won 32 of the last 38 races, and will head into the new season as the favourites to win a third consecutive driver-and-team title.
“I’ve had the auto to help me realise that dream twice now but haven’t quite been able to bring everything together”, he said.
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“We won’t know exactly where we stand until we reach the end of the two tests”, said Yasuhisa Arai, Honda’s senior managing officer. The guy who is quickest would still have his number of poles recorded for history. That is better than totally reversed grids because all you get with them is the man at the back getting past the slower guys at the start of the race. “It won’t be easy to get past people”.
