George Russell says the Mercedes W15 is nicer to drive than the 2023 car after completing solid mileage during the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
When launching the 2024 design, Mercedes put an emphasis on making the car less challenging for the drivers, with a focus on improving the troublesome rear end of last year’s car. After completing 122 laps and setting a best time that was only 12th fastest on the leaderboard — some 2.7 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s benchmark — Russell was feeling positive about the initial feedback from the car.
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“It was great to drive the W15 for the first time in anger today,” Russell said. “From hitting the ground, it felt like we had a good foundation to start from. We completed lots of laps and have plenty of data to go through tonight. We ended the day in a reasonably good spot, and we can build from here over the next two days.
“We will be focused on maximizing mileage for learning rather than chasing an optimum sweet spot with the car. Overall, the W15 does feel nicer to drive than last year’s car. We know that it’s not about the feeling, but the speed. Nevertheless, today was about learning and not about chasing performance.
“We’re focused on ourselves at this test, and it will only be next week where we see where we stack up against the others. It was a positive first day and I’m looking forward to being back in the car on Friday.”
Only Russell and Verstappen completed a full day of driving on the opening day of the test, with the rest of the grid opting to give a session to each of their drivers. Lewis Hamilton will take over duties from Russell on day two, with Mercedes then splitting running between the pair on the final day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.