Hamilton blazing after FP sessions in Japan: 'Best session this year'

Lewis Hamilton can look back on the first free practice session in Japan with satisfaction. The seven-time world champion even calls the session afterwards the best session of the current Formula 1 season. At Mercedes, things are not going great yet this season. In Australia, both Hamilton and Russell crashed out, resulting in no points being credited.

"FP1 was a great session for us," enthuses Hamilton. "It was the best session for us so far this year and the best the car has felt. I felt very positive and excited heading into FP2 as this is a circuit that every driver loves to drive. It was a shame not to get much running in, therefore."

Hamilton happy with his W15

In the last two years here, we've struggled with a car that has had an inconsistent balance and has been difficult to drive. The team has done a lot of great work since Australia, and we seemed to hit the ground running today. The car was definitely in a sweeter spot. We've got a better baseline to start from this weekend and hopefully we can build on that," explained the positive Briton.

The second free practice session in Japan was somewhat strange. The weather conditions were wet during FP2, making it too dry for intermediates and too wet for slicks. Hamilton was the first to try, but he soon came back in. Max Verstappen, for instance, did not enter the track at all, as did Sergio Perez.