“I’ve never had a first practice day like it, to jump in the vehicle and not have a single problem”, said Hamilton.
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In the 1st day of Formula One pre-season testing in Barcelona, the World’s Best Drivers has returned to the circuit to gear-up for the upcoming campaign. “Nothing gets done”, Ecclestone, the 85-year-old Briton whose Formula One Management is based in central London, told the Daily Mail newspaper.
Following the test, Button said its engine partner, Honda, had clearly made good strides when it comes to the power unit. The Briton was sixth fastest with a 1m26.
Mercedes are the favourites to repeat their domination of the past two years and after only half an hour they had put in nine laps, more than twice as many as the next best Daniel Ricciardo and Sainz (both four).
Hamilton was the busiest driver in the morning session with 66 laps, 23 more than Bottas and 30 more than Vettel.
Testing continues in Barcelona on Tuesday.
“It’s very encouraging”, added Hamilton after doing more mileage than anyone else.
Monday was the first day the new cars had been seen in public with only Sauber yet to show theirs.
This week’s four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya is the first of two four-day tests, as the now 11 teams with the introduction of the Haas F1 Team (above), prepare for the season opener in Melbourne in four weeks time.
That is despite the fact driver Valtteri Bottas, who nearly completed a switch to Ferrari for 2016, is pushing the British team for race wins this year. However, with seven more days of testing to come before the season gets started, it was Mercedes’ remarkable reliability that sent shockwaves round the paddock. The test sessions in Barcelona should indicate if any of its rivals have made significant gains – or if, again, the fight will be for second place.
“If you look back at the first days I’ve had in 2013 and maybe 2014, I had those glitches with the brakes so it’s nice to have a clean day without any issues with the vehicle”.
“On outright pace … if you look at the times, you would say we are miles away, but we’re not going out there to set a lap time – we’re going out there to do different checks”, continued Button.
Williams, which has finished third in the constructors’ championship the past two seasons, also presented its 2016 auto. 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.
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This sort of thing is not unusual – Force India suffered a series of structural failures at the Hungarian Grand Prix last year – but it underlines the steep learning curve Haas will be on this year, despite their close links with Ferrari.
