Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team rounded out their week of pre-season testing today with a 1-2 on the timesheets, as Lewis Hamilton took the lead with a 1:19.138 and George Russell followed behind with a 1:19.233.
Hamilton and Russell were two of only three drivers today to set their best lap on C5 tyres, which are typically the fastest compound around one lap. In response to the competitive result, Russell emphasised that times aren’t a reliable indicator of performance.
“The three days in Barcelona have been incredibly intriguing. I don’t think the lap times are very representative at all, we were top of the timesheets today on the C5 compound which is incredibly strong around Barcelona, but I wouldn’t read much into it.”
Russell gave his insight as to where future improvements lie based on the experimentation done throughout the week, adding that McLaren and Ferrari– each having topped the timesheet on Wednesday and Thursday respectively– appear to be performing at a high level.
“The Ferrari and McLaren look strong and I think we’ve got lots of improvements to make, we’re not fully happy with the balance of the car and the other limitations we have currently. But it is only testing, we’re here to learn and we have made some important experiments this week and have a good idea of the direction we need to go in.”