Mercedes 2017 Pre-Season Test 2, Day 4 report

Silver Arrows wrap up pre-season testing with monster mileage

Date:                           Friday 10 March 2017

Driver(s):                    Valtteri Bottas (AM), Lewis Hamilton (PM)

Circuit:                                    Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Circuit Length:                       4.655 km

Laps Completed:        Valtteri 53, Lewis 54, Total 107

Distance Covered:      Valtteri 247km, Lewis 251km, Total 498 km

Best Lap Time:                       Valtteri 1:19.845, Lewis 1:19.850

Weather Conditions:   Partly cloudy, dry, mild

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport completed 107 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the final day of 2017 pre-season testing in Spain, taking total winter testing mileage for the new F1 W08 EQ Power+ to 1,096 laps – 5,102 km.

• Valtteri emerged for his first run at 09:05, completing 53 laps on his final morning of testing before Melbourne. The Finn’s total lap count of 628 across the eight day winter programme is the highest of any driver
• Lewis took over in the cockpit after the hour-long lunch break, adding another 54 laps to his tally in the afternoon
• Today’s programme focused on further set-up work and tyre analysis ahead of Melbourne
• Mercedes-Benz Power Units completed a total of 7,597km this week in Barcelona
• The Silver Arrows will next hit the track on Friday 24 March in Melbourne for Free Practice ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas:

I got in a reasonable amount of laps on my last morning in the car and leave testing feeling confident and ready to race. I feel that as a team we have been able to improve how we work together, that we have a great spirit and real will to win.

It’s been so nice over these past two weeks to see how we operate as a group, both on and off the race track. Thanks to everyone in Brackley and Brixworth for creating this beautiful package. I hope we can extract the maximum from it straight from the word go in Melbourne.

We’ve been testing lots of things, so it’s going to take a long time to analyse everything that we’ve done. I’ve had a massive learning curve over these eight days and that will continue but I can’t wait for the start lights to go out in Melbourne.

Lewis Hamilton:

It’s been a busy winter for us. I don’t remember how it was last year but this felt like a good couple of weeks. We’re working together better than ever as a team and Valtteri has done great to blend in and do a solid job. We’ve had our up and down days with the car, learnt a lot from that and made plenty of changes. I’m happy with what we’ve gained knowledge-wise and feel confident we got everything we needed from this test to go out and fight in Melbourne.

The others seem quick, so it looks like we have a good battle on our hands. Ferrari have been doing a fantastic job. I think there’s more to come from them but their pace here has really been spectacular. I don’t know if Red Bull had their full package here. Usually they bring that to the first race but they’re definitely still up there and I expect a serious fight with both of those teams. I’ve never wished to dominate. Of course, I want a car that I can go out and fight for a Championship with – but for the fans it’s best when there’s multiple teams fighting for it.

I just heard about John Surtees. To end the day with that kind of news is very sad. He was a legend of the sport – a lovely guy who did so much. It’s a shock to everyone. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Source : Mercedes.com

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