Hamilton: Mercedes has 'clearly' improved with W15 car

Lewis Hamilton has stated that Mercedes has taken a step forward following his first experience with the W15 car.

The seven-time World Champion jumped behind the wheel on Thursday, taking over testing duties from teammate George Russell who handled running the day before.

The day was largely untroubled aside from a loose drain cover that caused the morning session to conclude early while repairs to the track were carried out.

Hamilton ended the day in third place and logged 123 laps as he prepares for his final season with Mercedes before switching to Ferrari next year.

After Russell's positive comments following his W15 debut on Wednesday, Hamilton too has voiced his satisfaction with the car.

"It was a productive day out there," Lews said. "We gathered lots of learnings about the W15, both in our long running and single lap work.

"We've clearly made an improvement with this year's car and it's much nicer to drive.”

'Still progress to make'

Mercedes has slipped back in the pecking order ever since new technical regulations were introduced in 2022.

The Brackley-based squad has won just a single Grand Prix since the rule change, courtesy of Russell.

Hamilton has pledged his commitment to help improve the car as the team aims to get back to winning ways.

"A big thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth for the efforts they've put in to deliver that over the past year. I'm really grateful for all their hard work,” he added.

"We've still got progress to make of course. But this is a good foundation for us to build on.

"We'll keep our heads down and continue to work to find improvements, both over the rest of the test and into next week.

"I'm looking forward to being back in the car tomorrow morning and continuing that learning."