Mercedes was among the standout teams with its W17 in the hands of both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, clocking up the highest number of laps and kilometres across the entire Barcelona test.

The Austrian, speaking to a selected group of media including GPblog, said he was encouraged by the car’s early signs but stressed the need to keep his feet firmly on the ground until genuinely representative lap times begin to emerge.

The Silver Arrows’ team principal also addressed the heated debate surrounding the alleged “trick” Mercedes is said to have found with its power unit to work around the compression ratio — and gain an advantage in horsepower and, ultimately, lap time.

“it's very clear what the regulations say, it's very clear what the standard procedures are on any power units even outside of Formula 1. So just get your s*** together,” was his blunt verdict when speaking to GPblog among other media.