After a challenging start to the campaign where Mercedes has struggled with its W15, duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ended up fourth and fifth quickest respectively in Suzuka’s morning free practice session, which offered the only representative running with FP2 taking place in damp conditions.
Off the back of a host of experiments that the team was running as part of its bid to get to the bottom of its car’s high-speed weakness and tyre temperature management, Hamilton said the early evidence pointed to good progress having been made.
“It was a great session, it was a really good session for us,” beamed Hamilton as he reflected on the day. “It was the best session that we've had this year, and it's the best the car has felt this year so far. So, so far really positive.
“I was really excited because this is a circuit that every driver loves to drive. In the last couple of years, we've had a really difficult car and a difficult balance to drive here. But given the difficult last few races we've had; great work has been done this past week.
“We just seem to have hit the ground a bit more in a sweeter spot. I haven't really made any changes since.”
Source: Autosport