Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth place on the third and final day of testing.
Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth place on the third and final day of testing. The seven-time world champion, unlike in the first two sessions, ran in the afternoon, focusing his program on race pace simulation. The British driver expressed his enthusiasm, openly sharing his feelings during the press conference.
Here are Lewis Hamilton‘s words: “These are probably the best feelings I’ve had in the last four years or so, but I’ve learned that you can’t judge too much from the first impression. For me, I think in previous years, especially with the previous generation of cars, it was much easier to immediately understand where you stood, based on the first feelings. But I would say this is the most positive feeling I’ve had in a long time. That’s all I can say for now.”
The English driver then added: “I’m still not a fan of testing, but I really enjoyed the tests I’ve done this year. If I had only had this day and a half of testing, I certainly wouldn’t be in the position I am now, in terms of comfort and feeling with the car. There’s still a bit of work to do, but yes, at this point, I’m really looking forward to racing. Personally, I enjoy throwing myself into the mix and figuring out what to do. That’s what we’re doing, but obviously, we’re following all the various processes, and I feel that in this period of time, we’ve built a solid foundation.”
Hamilton was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Ferrari power unit, but, of course, there is still a lot of work to be done: “I feel there’s still quite a bit to do. Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to drive the 2023 car. So, I was able to compare it with the 2024 car and see the progress they’ve made. The issues those two cars had and how they improved in those areas. The engine has a different tone, it gives different feedback, a different drivability, and I’ve driven the Mercedes for so long, it had a great engine. It’s nice to see that Ferrari also has a great power unit. I’ve been spending time with the engineers from the engine department to learn all the processes they adopt for reliability and managing power. It’s a process in itself, but so far, it’s been really fantastic.”
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari
