- Jerez Test - Day Four
'It never feels good the first time' - Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton does not think his new Mercedes W06 feels that different to last year's championship-winning W05 but says new cars never feel particularly impressive during the first test.
Hamilton completed 117 laps at the wheel of the W06 to add to the 91 he completed on Monday, while team-mate Nico Rosberg managed a mammoth 307. However, in the cold conditions at Jerez and with the W06 in its early testing specification, Hamilton was keen to reserve judgement on its true potential.
"Every single time I've driven the car it never feels good the first time because the car is at its worst, the tyres are not good in the cold conditions here in Jerez," he said. "It never feels good the first time, that's just how it is, but you know that's the worst it's going to be this year because it will get better throughout the year. Overall the car feels very, very similar to last year, so very difficult to pick out any differences."
Hamilton had a spin early in the session, which saw his Mercedes pointing backwards at the chicane.
"It was a bit damp, I was the first on slicks and I had a spin," he explained.
And Hamilton is not fazed by the quick lap set by Raikkonen, which was 1.331s faster than his best lap of the week.
"I've not really been looking to be honest, I've just been focusing on doing my own thing. I'm sure they're on different fuel loads to others, and they look like they're doing shorter, more attacking runs which we are not."
But he was impressed by the Mercedes' mileage.
"Paddy [Lowe] just said it has been the highest week of mileage, so that's a surprise for us all, with Nico having good days with over 150 laps and for me to have an average of 100 laps on both days, it's great to see the work put in by all the guys in garage."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
