Lewis Hamilton excited to tackle ‘strong’ Red Bull after dismissing Mercedes problems

F1: Lewis Hamilton extends Mercedes contract

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After a turbulent few days of winter testing, Mercedes are going to be looking for a smoother start to their 2021 Formula One campaign at the opening race of the season in Bahrain, and to get back to the top of the timing screens.

Red Bull posted the fastest time in pre-season testing, with Mercedes encountering problem after problem during their three days of running, including gearbox issues which left them playing catch up for track time early on.

Speaking in the final testing press conference on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton however was philosophical in his approach, and pushed aside any concerns regarding the teams performance.

“I don’t waste time worrying, that deters you from finding the solution,” said Hamilton.

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“We’re just working hard and focusing on getting through the short amount of testing we have, and trying to be as efficient as possible as we can with it.

“It’s better when it doesn’t go smoothly, it’s better it doesn’t go smooth now and goes smooth when we get into the racing scene, so this is the perfect time for us to find the issues and have the problems. I welcome that.

“I think everyone is just keeping their heads down, no one’s particularly phased by it. We’re a multi-championship winning team, and we know how to pull together and focus on the job.

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“Without doubt, it’s quite impressive to see the speed of some of the other teams. Red Bull are looking particularly strong, and it’s great to see McLaren looking so strong and also Renault [Alpine] I’m excited also because that means more fun.”

The seven-time world champion had his own problems during testing, coming into issues with the balance of the car in his first outing, losing the rear and beaching it, with another spin later in the weekend.

“I’ve never been a massive fan of testing; I just love racing. On the other end, it might have been good to have had more days,” admitted Hamilton to F1 on Sunday.

“It’s probably the only time I’d have ever asked for more days.

“We’ve got lots of work to do, it’s going to be tough.”

Mercedes decided against holding a promotional filming day with the new car before testing – and even though there’s no real running of the car, it can act as an initial shakedown for the team to iron out any last minute issues. Running is limited to 100km and must be completed on bespoke tyres that will not be raced in 2021.

Mercedes are choosing to do theirs on Tuesday in Bahrain – it’ll be their final chance to run the car on track before the opening round on March 26-28.

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