George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished the first practice session for the Japanese GP in fourth and fifth. According to Hamilton it was the best session of the season so far.
“The first session was great for us,” said Hamilton, who with his fifth time was about half a second slower than Max Verstappen. “It was the best session of the year so far for us and the car also felt the best. The last two years we struggled with the car here, the balance was inconsistent and it was difficult to drive.”
“I had a very good feeling before the second practice session and every rider loves to ride here. It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to drive too much here yet.”
After a disappointing race weekend in Australia, Japan seems to be starting better again, but so far Mercedes often seems to perform well on Friday but a lot less on Saturday and Sunday. However, Mercedes tried to eliminate some weaknesses on the car after the race in Australia.
“The team has done a great job since Australia and things seem to be going well here straight away,” said Hamilton. “The car is clearly in a much better situation.”
“We have a better foundation to start from this weekend and hopefully we can continue to build on this.”