Hamilton is not disappointed by Mercedes' poor start

Lewis Hamilton has said he is not discouraged by Mercedes' poor start to winter testing. Yesterday Nico Rosberg completed a few laps, stopped by an electrical problem and today the Englishman crashed due to a pressure problem in the rear brakes after only 15 laps.

“We need to look forward and stay positive,” said Hamilton. “The boys are working hard and I'm happy that it didn't happen at the last test in Barcelona. It would have been more serious. Such a problem can now be solved. If more problems are to come, I hope they arrive tomorrow or the next day, so that I can have problem-free days afterwards."

Speaking about the accident Hamilton said: “I hit the brake and, for a split second, it worked. But later the pedal went off. It no longer worked and I had to brace myself for impact. My legs took a slight beating.”

Hamilton revealed that he looked for barriers with the front so as not to seriously damage the car: “If you hit it sideways the whole side is damaged. It's much easier to go straight and damage the nose."

According to the Englishman, it will be essential to cover many laps: “We have a lot of tyres, we just need to make sure we get on track tomorrow at 9.00. Nico must go out first and must try to do as many laps as possible. 110/120 rpm would be excellent. I'm quite happy with the car. I think we have a good base and we can work on something."

“I got that time easily. There's definitely potential. But for sure I'm putting pressure on the aerodynamics guys because we need load. Coming from McLaren, so competitive at the end of last year with incredible downforce, you can certainly feel the difference."