Lewis Hamilton says he likes the feel of McLaren’s new car after spending a full day at the wheel of the MP4-24 during testing at Portimao on Wednesday.

It was the first time the world champion had driven a Formula 1 car in anger since the nail-biting season finale in Brazil last November.

Hamilton’s morning session was marred by wet conditions and a precautionary engine shutdown that saw him stop out on track just before lunchtime.

But a dry circuit in the afternoon allowed Hamilton to bolt on a set of slick tyres and experience 2009 levels of downforce for the first time.

“I’m pleased to report that the car feels good, we’ve made lots of progress over the winter and I’m looking forward to developing the car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix,” Hamilton said.
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"It was good to be back working with the team - it felt like I’d hardly been away because it was easy to slip back into the routine.

“It’s amazing to think that, while I’ve been to Woking throughout the winter, I haven’t properly driven a Formula 1 car since the Brazilian Grand Prix two months ago, but everything very quickly felt normal today.

"This first test was all about just getting used to the new car and the new regulations and about giving my feedback to the engineers; it wasn’t about setting a fast time.“

With testing banned between races, Hamilton added that the build up to the season opener on March 29 is going to be crucial for debugging and setting up the new car.

"It’s going to be an extremely busy winter,” he said.

“I’ve only been in the car for one day and our usual joblist for the weeks ahead is already enormous.

“With the limitations on testing during the season, and the few sessions we have over the next two months, this is going to be an intense time and absolutely critical for every team."

 

Note to self: get a job on McLaren's F1 team ASAP.