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After his team made changes since the last race in Jeddah, the seven-time world champion said the car felt at its best at the start of FP1.
However, following set-up adjustments, he indicated that the situation was “getting worse and worse” and that ultimately, during FP2, he felt “the least confident” he had ever been with the car. He finished the session in 18th place.
“I’m obviously not feeling well,” he said. “We had one of the worst sessions I’ve probably had in a long time.
“FP1s generally felt pretty good, the car in the first FP1 session felt the best it had ever felt.
“And it got worse and worse. And then we made big changes in FP2, and it was difficult.”
He added: “After this session I feel the least confident I have ever felt with this car, but there are some positives in this FP1 session we did.”
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell had a better day, taking third in FP1 and sixth in FP2.
“I felt pretty comfortable from the start,” he said. “We have made some changes since Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, we are still trying to understand this car better.
“Every trick is so valuable that you learn more and more and try to get it to the right place.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“Obviously now we have a team back at the factory working on the simulation, we are trying to get more performance out of it.
“So let’s see what tomorrow brings. When everyone gets a good night’s sleep the next day, it’s often very different.”
Still, Russell admitted the day was tough at times.
“We’re pushing the limits, and a few little moments here and there,” he said. “But everything is under control at the end. And it looks pretty close. In the first session I think it was like two tenths separating 10 cars.”
“FP2, a little more spread out. I was on track to have a really good lap at the end, and I just had a little problem in the last two corners.
“On my very last lap I was, I think, two or three tenths ahead. I came out of turn 12 and damaged my front wing.
“I didn’t start, but I lost a lot of lap time there. So I think we would have been P3 in that session. But we still had good performances in FP1 and FP2.”
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