Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton  hailed his ‘fantastic’ Mercedes after wrapping up the first pre-season test with another 99 laps before lunchtime yesterday.
“It’s been an incredible week of testing for us because we’ve done more mileage than we ever had before,” the Briton told reporters at the Circuit de Catalunya before handing over to German teammate Nico Rosberg for the afternoon session.
“Before we came here the team were talking about doing 800km a day and I was thinking they are crazy. I’ve never done that in the past...I’ve never had a week like this when the car has just kept going on and on and on.”
Hamilton did 342 laps in total, 156 of them on the first day when the car was still fresh out of the garage.
That works out at 1,592km, more than five race distances at the Spanish Grand Prix circuit.
With the V6 turbo hybrid power units now in their third year, reliability has been much better across the field than it was a year ago with far fewer red flags to stop the track action.
Even so, champions Mercedes have far outstripped their rivals in mileage terms, a better benchmark at this stage than outright pace because cars can have different fuel loads.
“The car looks fantastic,” said Hamilton. “Obviously we don’t know the pace of the car just yet but what we can say is that it’s gone the distance and that’s half the battle.”
Hamilton also condemned plans to introduce heavier cars in 2017 and criticised rulemakers for failing to consult drivers. A list of proposed bodywork changes for 2017 published by the governing FIA on Wednesday envisaged car weights increasing from 702kg to 722kg including bigger tyres which accounted for an estimated five kgs.
The measures are part of a package of sweeping changes aimed at livening up the sport with faster, louder and more challenging cars, which will also be wider.
“I don’t agree with the changes that have been made over many years. I think the drivers should be consulted more. We have a feeling in the car and what could be made better. We do know what does not feel good and what to improve,” said the 31-year-old Briton.
Hamilton said cars were already too heavy and should be made substantially lighter as a means of making them go faster. He pointed out that when he entered the sport with McLaren in 2007, before the current V6 turbo hybrid era, the cars had weighed around 600 kg.
“I know (race director) Charlie (Whiting) is keen to hear from us drivers on what can be better, but those that have been implemented just now are nothing to do with us,” he added. “We need some more battles. I don’t know what the answer is but whatever the decisions they have been making, they have not been working for some time.”
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, a double champion who had a nightmare 2015 due to the under-performing Honda engine, had his spirits lifted on Wednesday when he managed 119 laps.
They may have dropped again on Thursday, with the Spaniard managing only three laps in the morning and unable to set an official time due to a water leak. “I think they are very, very strong,” he said of Mercedes. “They are stronger than ever probably.”
Ferrari, closest rivals to Mercedes last year, have looked quick with Sebastian Vettel fastest in the first two days and Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen sounding happy enough on Wednesday. “I am sure it’s going to be a better car than last year’s,” he said. “We are happy so far even if we know there are still a lot of things to do.”
The season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 20.