Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes still have 'obstacles to overcome' before F1 2022 season begins

Lewis Hamilton feels Mercedes still have some 'obstacles to overcome' concerning the development of the W13. The 37-year-old was the fastest driver on track for the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, setting a time of 1:19.138, a smidge faster than new teammate George Russell.

After the session, Lewis Hamilton shared his thoughts on the car and the new regulatory changes that have played a huge role in its development. The Briton said:

“It’s been an interesting few days. It’s not been the easiest, or the most smooth running. We’ve definitely had some obstacles to overcome. But we’ve got through as much as we wanted – of course we can always do more laps but I’m happy with today’s. I think I almost got 100 laps in today, so for half a day running, that’s not too bad. We’re a little bit behind on the last two days. The car’s a lot different to previous years to drive, as are the tires, but we’re working our way through it.”

Lewis Hamilton and the Silver Arrows have time to work out any issues that might be plaguing the car before they roll on to Bahrain for the second pre-season testing session that precedes the first Grand Prix of the calendar year.

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George Russell keen to 'work together' with Lewis Hamilton in 2022 F1 season

George Russell has reiterated his interest in working together with his childhood idol Lewis Hamilton in his first full season with Mercedes.

Russell joined the Silver Arrows after signing a massive $6.76 million contract to replace Finland's Valtteri Bottas. Bottas was one of Hamilton's most agreeable teammates in recent history and the pair made for a formidable duo for Mercedes. Russell knows he must follow in that vein, especially with F1 being revamped by a multitude of regulatory changes.

The 24-year-old elaborated on his plans to work in tandem with Lewis Hamilton during a media interaction after the launch of the Mercedes W13. Russell said:

“You’ve got to remember Formula 1 developed this ruleset with the idea they [the cars] were going to be around four seconds slower, and we’re already hearing from every single team that they’re going to be far, far faster than that. Lewis (Hamilton) and I need to work together, we can’t focus too much on each other because things are constantly changing and that’s why we need to take a step back. We hope Mercedes will still be the fastest team, the fastest car on the grid but there are no guarantees and we need to not be naive to that and to work together to ensure we are.”

Both Mercedes drivers will be pleased with their initial showings during pre-season testing but the Silver Arrows will definitely look to improve before the start of the season.