General
The first laps for Lewis Hamilton in over three months
Mercedes was at the Silverstone circuit on Tuesday Wednesday for a private test session. This test session is the first time in three and a half months that a Formula 1 car is driving at all on a circuit at speed. After Valtteri Bottas, it was now Lewis Hamilton's turn to master the new procedures.
Due to the strict rules on the number of days Formula 1 teams can test this season's car, both Bottas and Hamilton were in the W09. The 2018 Mercedes that both drivers are familiar with.
On a technical level, the team has therefore become practically nothing wiser, but they have made the most of the time to get used as much as possible to the new procedures that are necessary due to the consequences of the corona crisis.
ROLL OUT! @LewisHamilton behind the wheel of an @F1 car! Oh, how we’ve missed this!! pic.twitter.com/Rqrljmy8UV
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) June 10, 2020
Mercedes test for new protocol in corona season
During this test all guidelines for keeping distance were taken into account and each team member had a mouth cap on. They also simulated the new start protocol. Less mechanics than normal are allowed to reach the car when it is on the grid.
These are procedures which Mercedes will be familiar with after these two days and Ferrari will also introduce a similar test. Red Bull Racing, on the other hand, has already announced that it will not do this. So Max Verstappen and co. will only get to know the new situation in Austria for the first time.
Anybody else playing this on repeat? pic.twitter.com/5gkn6kdeVB
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) June 10, 2020
