Friday: Hamilton and Rosberg at ease in the Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (No. 44) – no time and 1st

After a first free practice session that lasted only 5 minutes due to a sensor problem that caused the engine block to stop, Lewis Hamilton was finally able to run during FP2 and quickly be on pace: « It was disappointing not to be able to run this morning, these little hiccups will happen with the new cars and we will have to get used to them. I was defensive from there but then, we got into the rhythm quite quickly in FP2 and found the balance fairly quickly. »

For him, the Mercedes W05 is a good starting point to build a strong result: « I feel comfortable in the car, so overall, it’s a positive start but we need to look at the data now and understand where we are. We have a good base for the weekend from the second session, so hopefully we can build on it for FP3 tomorrow, and then we’ll see where we are in qualifying. »

Nico Rosberg (No. 6) – 6th and 2nd

The German, who has experienced two rather calm sessions, prefers not to speculate wildly: « As is often the case on Fridays, we don’t really know where we stand in terms of pace and how much fuel everyone was running compared to our program. »

Fuel, precisely, will be a very delicate parameter to manage on a circuit where consumption is high. This information will be crucial during the Grand Prix: « It will be really tough regarding fuel here, as we expected. The screen on my steering wheel showed me the target fuel level for each lap and we will have to be very disciplined during the race. »

But Rosberg knows his team is in good shape and looks forward to advancing through the weekend: « It’s a good start for us overall, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend. »