Overall, Hamilton is confident he and the team “are going in the right
direction”.
He added: “It’s so encouraging to see the amount of work that’s going in, to
see the atmosphere there [at the factory] and how determined everyone is.
“I’ve a great group of guys behind me. I’m sure they’ve been working hard over
the years.
“But I’ve only just arrived and immediately I see just a fantastic
determination and effort going in. I hope it all pays off.”
Whilst Pirelli are proving themselves to be as good as their word this year as
they promised compounds would be half a second per lap quicker than those
from last year, the high degradation is proving a concern for all drivers.
Hamilton claims looking after the tyres “isn’t easy”, whilst Perez feels the
wear is “a big surprise”, adding that “normally in testing we see a lot of
degradation, but never this much”.