(Motorsport) After a disappointing 2022 season, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have not had the ideal pre-season testing ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, struggling with pace and grip despite solving the porpoising issue. Hamilton managed to post the second fastest time behind Sergio Perez on the final day of pre-season testing but the seven time World Champion has said that his team “have a mountain to climb” to catch up to Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari and even Aston Martin ahead of the upcoming season.
Speaking about the pre-season, Hamilton said “It’s been an interesting few days, it’s never easy. There’s been a lot of discoveries. I think the thing I’ve been most impressed with is, it’s my 11th year with the team and everyone’s turned up with the same mentality, working hard, no one’s been complacent. We realise that we have a mountain to climb and no one’s fussed, everyone has just kept their heads down so I’m really proud of that.
“We’re not quite where we want to be but it’s a good platform to start from. It’s a much more beautiful world to be in when we’re not bouncing but we do have some pace to pick up in a straight line. We have some things we need to work on, it’s still not perfect and we’re still not able to match the Red Bulls, or the Ferraris, currently. Who knows where we’ll be next week, we’ll just try to stay positive.”
Also read: George Russell admits Mercedes are trailing behind Red Bull and Ferrari
