Lewis Hamilton heaped praised on Mercedes for the upgrade package they brought to the Austrian GP after leading both practice sessions on Friday.
After introducing a new ‘Phase 2.1’ engine last weekend in France, this week, the W09 has been given a fresh look with new sidepods, bargeboards and rear wing as part of the biggest aerodynamic development so far this season.
Both the world champion and teammate Valtteri Bottas used it to good effect, finishing 1-2 in Spielberg on Friday, and Hamilton admits the changes are noticeable from the behind the wheel.
“The car feels better in certain areas around the track and it was already great last week,” he told Sky Sports.
“I am just going to keep pushing to maximise and get more out of it. The car does feel good this weekend so I am excited for the fight.”
Never one to be satisfied though, the Briton called on Mercedes to keep pushing the envelope.
“I’d like more please!” he declared. “There are others who are just constantly adding but we wait to put in one big block.”
Despite his happiness with the performance and the advantage it appears the Brackley-based team have, Hamilton did admit there was still work to do.
“FP1 the car felt immediately better and the start of FP2 it felt better again,” he said. “But it kind of got worse through the session. We have got to figure out why and I am sure we can rectify it.”
Most interesting was his comments about the Soft compound tyre, which is the hardest of the three types available in Austria and was the one he actually used to set his best time on.
“We have had nine races and they’re different everywhere we go,” he claimed. “One session they will work and the next session they don’t and you don’t understand why. It is confusing.”
