Formula 1 2018 Pre Season Test 2 Day 2

USPA NEWS - Date: Wednesday 7 March 2018

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (AM), Valtteri Bottas (PM)

Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Circuit Length: 4.655 km

Laps Completed: Lewis 90, Valtteri 85, Total 175

Distance Covered: Lewis 419 km, Valtteri 396 km, Total 815 km

Best Lap Time: Lewis 1:18.400, Valtteri 1:18.560

It´s been another busy day for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, with the F1 W09 EQ Power+ completing 175 laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Both Lewis and Valtteri´s fastest times were in the 1:18s, set on the Ultrasoft compound tyres.

Lewis took the car out in the morning, with Valtteri behind the wheel in the afternoon

Both drivers completed a similar programme today with shorter runs in the beginning and longer runs afterwards

Today´s programme focussed on aero tests, pit stop practice and qualifying and race simulations

Mercedes-Benz Power Units today completed a total of 2,085 km

Valtteri Bottas:

The car felt OK. We did some shorter runs in the beginning, and then longer runs afterwards. We definitely made some improvements once again. We´ve made good progress since last year, but some other cars look quick as well.

We had decent temperatures so we could do some proper testing and learned a lot from today. We have some work to do to get more out of the soft compounds.

I always enjoy trying to extract everything out of the car. But we still haven´t unlocked the full potential of the package we have, so there´s more to come.

Lewis Hamilton:

Today has been positive. The car is feeling good and the tyres are working. It´s nice to have some good weather so we can really try and get in the mileage.

The reliability has been good so far, which is a sign of all the great, hard work that the team has put in over the winter.

It´s still a work in progress, but it´s definitely going in the right direction. The team´s working hard ““ both here and back at the factory ““ to continue to climb the upwards gradient which we´re currently on.

I´m just so proud that I´m driving a creation that these guys have all worked to the bone to create. I´m proud to be the one who gets to go out there and try to exploit this car and bring them the results they deserve.