F1: Hamilton Encouraged By McLaren Progress

Formula 1

F1: Hamilton Encouraged By McLaren Progress

Lewis Hamilton drove 121 laps on Wednesday in the McLaren MP4-27...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted February 22, 2012 Barcelona (ESP)

Lewis Hamilton says the 2012 McLaren car is progressing nicely. (Photo: Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton is encouraged by the progress of the McLaren MP4-27 after another reliable day in Barcelona.

Hamilton added 121 laps on Wednesday to the 114 he completed Tuesday. He ran a race distance simulation in the afternoon, and his mood indicates that his sixth place in the day’s final order is of little significance as the team focuses on the bigger picture.

This time last year McLaren was struggling badly with both reliability and performance.

Hamilton hands the car to Jenson Button for Thursday and Friday.

“To have completed more than 1,000 kilometers in the past two days is incredibly encouraging – the whole team should feel proud,” said Hamilton. “The car behaves really well in the high-speed corners – I think the baseline of our car is higher than it was last year – and it’s better overall at high-speed. It’s performing well in Turns Three and Nine, too.

“We don’t know the fuel loads of the other cars, so it’s still hard to determine the pecking order. We didn’t bring any upgrades here, but our understanding of the car has developed since the test in Jerez. We’re learning more about how the tires work, how the temperatures behave and how to balance the car using setup. It’s been an extremely productive few days – and I think Jenson will continue to improve the car tomorrow.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.