Mercedes at ease after Friday testing: “The situation looks promising”

The sky is already clear for Mercedes on the evening of Friday practice for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. The No. 1 team since 2014 returned to its usual position of dominant force with the best time Lewis Hamilton, both in Free Practice 1 andin Free Practice 2 at the end of the afternoon. 

However, the Briton, who showed off a new helmet with black and purple decoration as a rallying point for the “Black Lives Matter” movement, does not want to get carried away. “The situation looks promising but we should not draw hasty conclusions from the free tests because we do not know what engine modes are used or the quantities of fuel on board. 

@LewisHamilton #WeRaceAsOne pic.twitter.com/nLya34t1NJ

—Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 2, 2020

We must therefore analyze all this with a pinch of salt., review data, work on the car tonight. » This conservative state of mind did not prevent him from enjoying the pleasure of piloting a car of F1.

“It’s great to be back behind the wheel, it’s been a while. I don't really remember the behavior of the car in Barcelona because it goes back so long. The positive lesson is that the car performed very well today. We can feel that we have continued to improve compared to last season. »

His teammate Valtteri Bottas thought no less. “I enjoyed every lap, every stint on the track today. It was an encouraging day even if I encountered a few small problems with my car at the end of the session. But I'm glad I started again. »

If the British and German engineers continued to work during confinement, the Finn still found his feet. “The feeling behind the wheel compared to Barcelona is slightly different but not obvious neither. And then I had only driven this car competitively on one track before this weekend. »