Pace setter Hamilton not 100% happy with car balance

Lewis Hamilton says he and Mercedes still have “some work to do” to improve the balance of his W07, despite the triple world champion setting the pace on Friday practice for the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton narrowly edged team-mate Nico Rosberg in the morning, with the pair over 0.8s clear of the rest of the field. The Briton was then left to fly the Mercedes flag on his own in the afternoon after Rosberg was sidelined by a fluid leak.

Hamilton capped a trouble-free opening day by topping FP2, nearly four tenths ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo

“The car is definitely feeling good but we’ve definitely got some work to do with the balance,” he said. “What is really difficult is to pinpoint exactly where the target is from corner to corner because the wind, the target is moving everywhere.

“You’ve got a couple of similar high-speed corners but from one corner you have over steer and another one you have under steer and then the other one is balanced so it’s difficult to know where you have got to change the car but we’ll work hard to do it. We’ve managed pretty much every other race we go to.”

“Obviously in the second session we didn’t get to see the pace that Nico would have. I don’t necessarily think my single lap was spectacular, but my long-run pace was good so hopefully I can take that into Sunday.”

Rosberg has confirmed he will rely on Hamilton’s data to recover from the track time he lost in FP2. The reigning world champion is quick to play down the significance of his title rival listening in to his feedback.

“Fortunately I don’t really say much, so he’s just listening to thin air really.”

FP2 report: Hamilton sweeps Friday practice as Rosberg hits trouble

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