Lewis Hamilton cut an upbeat figure after Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Mercedes featuring towards the top of the timesheets. Hamilton and teammate George Russell finished just behind pace-setting Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc - and ahead of both Red Bulls - during FP2 in Barcelona. Fitted with various updates, the W13 appeared to be porpoising far less than at recent events, and Hamilton echoed Russell's initial assessment that solid progress has been made.
Hamilton "super happy" with Mercedes progress
Speaking after the session, Hamilton paid tribute to the Mercedes workforce for their efforts behind the scenes since the start of the season. "I'm super happy with the progress, so a big, big, big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for not giving up and for continuing to push," he commented. "We're not the quickest, but I think we're on our way. It's the first time we've driven down the straight without bouncing. We still have some bouncing, but it's way better. "We're starting to eke into a bit of the potential in our car."
Hamilton eager to push Ferrari and Red Bull
Heading into Saturday's running, Hamilton is hopeful that Mercedes can give Ferrari and Red Bull a run for their money. "It's still tough out there with the car, but it's much nicer than it's been before, so I'm really grateful for those upgrades," he continued. "We now need to just try to fine-tune them into the next session, so overnight, [there will be] lots of data to go over [to] try to position the car. "I think we can get it into an even better place for tomorrow, so that hopefully we can tackle the heels of the guys up ahead."
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