On Friday morning whilst the UK were preparing for Storm Eunice’s imminent arrival, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team were busy completing their shakedown at Silverstone, after launching the W13 in the morning.
Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took part in the 100km shakedown and filming day, in what were incredibly wet and windy conditions. Russell even went a step further after his run in the W13 and told Motorsport.com “I’d say it’s the windiest day I’ve ever experienced in my whole motorsport career.”.
Russell continued, “It was absolutely crazy, but we managed to keep the car on the black stuff. To be honest we just went through the program of just running it, making sure I’m comfortable – which I am and I’m pleased about.
“The car handled I’d say largely as we expected but equally with these conditions, in the wet, and with the wind, there’s not a huge amount you can take from it. So far we’re in a good place and I think we’re in a good window ahead of Barcelona.”
It was Russell who in fact kicked off the shakedown for the team, before Seven-Time World Champion Lewis Hamilton got behind the wheel of the W13. Both the drivers and the team will be hoping for considerably less blustery conditions when pre-season testing takes place on February 23-25 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
