Lewis Hamilton says he is "really enjoying" driving his Ferrari after ending the second morning of Formula One's pre-season testing in Bahrain with his name on top of the timesheets.
The seven-time world champion was second overall for the day, but only 0.031 seconds slower than Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard whose place he took at Ferrari and who will be racing for Williams when the season starts in Australia on March 16.
"I am really enjoying the car. We're slowly bonding, I think," Hamilton told television reporters at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit.
"Yesterday was a so so day, it was OK. But yesterday we got through all our run-plan.
"Today was a bit more of getting to explore my interaction with my engineer. So far I really enjoy driving the car," said the 40-year-old, who won six of his titles with Mercedes and one with McLaren.
The enjoyment was limited for much of last year, with the Briton unhappy with his Mercedes' handling.
Hamilton said he was getting up to speed gradually with his new surroundings.
"We're focused on doing our job, we're not watching everything else that's happening. We're literally trying to make sure we're learning our processes in the car," he said.
"With every lap and every session I get, I'm learning more about the car, getting more and more comfortable with all the completely different control systems we have.
"I'm in the learning phase of understanding the rear suspension, the front suspension, all the different settings they have for those and the terminology they use for them.
"It likes to be driven differently. That's a fun journey, learning. I feel he car is responding to my inputs. Today was a positive day and making the incremental steps with the setup."
Upbeat Hamilton says he is ‘really enjoying’ his new Ferrari
Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton says he is "really enjoying" driving his Ferrari after ending the second morning of Formula One's pre-season testing in Bahrain with his name on top of the timesheets.
The seven-time world champion was second overall for the day, but only 0.031 seconds slower than Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard whose place he took at Ferrari and who will be racing for Williams when the season starts in Australia on March 16.
"I am really enjoying the car. We're slowly bonding, I think," Hamilton told television reporters at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit.
"Yesterday was a so so day, it was OK. But yesterday we got through all our run-plan.
"Today was a bit more of getting to explore my interaction with my engineer. So far I really enjoy driving the car," said the 40-year-old, who won six of his titles with Mercedes and one with McLaren.
The enjoyment was limited for much of last year, with the Briton unhappy with his Mercedes' handling.
Hamilton said he was getting up to speed gradually with his new surroundings.
"We're focused on doing our job, we're not watching everything else that's happening. We're literally trying to make sure we're learning our processes in the car," he said.
"With every lap and every session I get, I'm learning more about the car, getting more and more comfortable with all the completely different control systems we have.
"I'm in the learning phase of understanding the rear suspension, the front suspension, all the different settings they have for those and the terminology they use for them.
"It likes to be driven differently. That's a fun journey, learning. I feel he car is responding to my inputs. Today was a positive day and making the incremental steps with the setup."
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