adminBARCELONA. – Three-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton continued his ominous form on day two of pre-season testing as he set the fastest time and most laps in the new Mercedes W08 yesterday morning.
Hamilton bettered his best time from Monday in 1min 20.983sec to set the fastest time at the Circuit de Catalunya since 2013.
Radical new rules for the 2017 season mean F1 cars are wider and more powerful than their predecessors.
Hamilton later gave way to new teammate Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session.
Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest but nearly two seconds off Hamilton’s time in his first outing in the Ferrari SF70.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon was third fastest for Force India.
Hamilton says his new Mercedes is a beast, but has predicted less overtaking in Formula One this year after struggling to follow other cars on track during the opening day of testing on Monday.
Hamilton split the day’s running with teammate Bottas, with both comfortably completing more than a race distance.
He set the fastest time by just over a tenth of a second from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, but in doing so also beat his pole position time from last year’s Spanish Grand Prix by a quarter of a second.
“It is a beast,” he said after getting out the new Mercedes W08. – AFP.
Online Reporter