Lewis Hamilton believes overall Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team did not have the greatest opening day of practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Briton finished with a time of 1:13.425 in Free Practice 1, topping the leaderboard, ahead of Sebastian Vettel. This time from Hamilton was two seconds faster than the fastest lap last year, proving that with the new regulations, the cars are faster this season as well as finding more grip with the tyres.
With this strong performance, Hamilton looked strong to continue it into Free Practice 2, but failed to set a time that would see him in the top five. He finished the session with a time of 1:13.873s in eighth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen.
Hamilton confirms there is some work to do ahead of the sessions on Saturday, but is confident the team can work it out.
“We didn’t have the greatest day today,” said Hamilton. “Practice one was actually really good and we were quickest.
“But then in second practice we just struggled to extract the grip from the tyres and we were sliding around a lot. I’m not sure why the tyres weren’t working but the difference between the two sessions was night and day. We’ve got some work to do ahead of Saturday that’s for sure but I’m confident the team can work it out.
“Monaco is always amazing to drive, but this is definitely the best car I’ve driven around here. Ferrari are very quick again and Red Bull are also looking good this weekend. We’re looking forward to a real fight on Saturday.”
