Hamilton: New Mercedes retains "underlying things" from troubled 2022

Mercedes was pleased to report “no bouncing” during the first of three days of testing at Bahrain as it has sought to eliminate the porpoising phenomenon that dogged it last year.

But the second day of running was blighted by persistent mid-corner balance issues for both Hamilton and team-mate George Russell, before the latter parked up in the afternoon with a hydraulics failure.

While the team was satisfied that overnight tweaks had settled the handling problem, Hamilton said that “underlying” issues from the draggy W13 had carried over to the new car.

Speaking on Saturday, the seven-time champion reported: “It’s difficult to sum [progress on new car] up.

“We’ve had a couple of difficult days and yesterday particularly was difficult. The first day didn’t feel too bad. Yesterday was a little bit more of a struggle.

“George has had a much better morning today [running to second in the times behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc], so things are going up, so hopefully we’ve got the set-up in the middle of the place.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Asked to compare the W14 to its problematic predecessor, Hamilton continued: “Right now, for example, the bouncing that we had has pretty much gone. That’s a huge step for us.

“It’s nice to drive it without the bouncing in the corners. But there are still some underlying things that we are working through.”