Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Hamilton happy with 'positive short running session'

As he topped the timesheets on Friday, Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a rather trouble-free day of running although certainly not an easy one.

Still, the reigning World Champion was satisfied with what he accomplished, as he ran through the bulk of the Mercedes' systems and procedures.

"It was a positive short running session today," Hamilton said.

"I’m happy with how the session went and considering there wasn’t a lot of running, I got all my procedures done, not the whole run plan, but there were a lot of tick off.

"I hope that tomorrow is a better day. Yesterday was really warm, with beautiful weather and today has just been up and down. It’s like we brought the Brit weather with us.

"I haven’t driven the super-softs, so I’m looking forward to that. But I don’t feel like it’s a big issue.

"Yesterday people were saying that we didn’t test with them, but I’ve been driving a long time and if I can’t get in the car and feel what the super-soft is compared to a soft or a medium, I probably shouldn’t be here."

Despite the entire grid's laborious start to the 2016 season in Melbourne, Hamilton admitted that it felt good to be back into the vibrant atmosphere of a Grand Prix.

"I was in the garage now and chilling just waiting, but as soon as I knew I was going to go I put my helmet on and was excited to get going.

"I love this part of the weekend when you get out on the track and I guess I don’t always show that, and sometimes people misinterpret things I might say or the energy I might project, but I have such excitement when I’m in there and I go out and practice."

As he looks to tomorrow, the British driver believes circumstances and the new qualifying format make any prediction a hard call.

" At the moment it is still unknown about who is where in terms of pace and we’ve not run a super-soft tyre.

"So of course I’m excited for tomorrow because it’s an unknown and the new qualifying system is unknown. Hopefully, for people tuning in it will be more exciting than today was. "

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.