Hamilton: “Not much to learn”

The teams only have data in wet conditions on the Suzuka track after the first day of testing for the Japanese GP where the rain remained present. If the Mercedes were closest to the reference made by Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull), the times do not correspond to the hierarchy. The pilots remained cautious and limited their driving, as evidenced by the 16 rounds covered by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the second session.

“I don’t know where we are.”, admitted Lewis Hamilton after testing. “I only had rain and a slippery track, with aquaplaning. These are not the best conditions. I didn't want to take any risks today, damaging the car or the gearbox. I simply made starts and did a few laps. There wasn't much to learn."

Toto wolff, the executive chairman of Mercedes Motorsport, confirmed that his team had played it safe. “If we don’t need to test new things on the car, there are no risks to take in these conditions. This circuit should suit our car better than the one in Singapore”, commented the Austrian.