Lewis Hamilton: “99% perfect”

Two free practice sessions in Australia, and already two best times for Lewis Hamilton et Mercedes. Each time, the three-time world champion took advantage of his ultra-soft tires to climb to the top of the timesheet at Albert Park in Melbourne, ahead of his teammate. Valtteri Bottas in EL1, then the Ferrari SF70H Sebastian Vettel, beaten by five tenths in EL2.

Performances that reassure the former pilot McLaren after the winter tests in Barcelona and the launch of the all-new 2017 single-seaters. “It was 99% perfect, admits Hamilton. After struggling with some issues in Barcelona, ​​we weren't sure if we would experience the same here.

What is really encouraging is that we arrived at the track just a few days after testing and the car is exactly where it should be. The feeling is good on the track and the guys did a fantastic job.

We showed good form today on the long and short runs and we completed every lap as we wanted. The tires performed very well today too. »

Lewis Hamilton plays it safe against Ferrari

If the Briton dominated Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari SF70H by more than five tenths in EL2, Hamilton is nevertheless wary of the Maranello team, and is waiting in particular for EL3 and especially qualifying tomorrow to gauge the real performance of the Italian single-seaters. “Today we really didn’t know where we would be.

We knew that in EL1, the Ferraris were not at their best. Of course, in FP2, suddenly they were fast. We'll see tomorrow how they really behave. »