Lewis Hamilton has lavished his new car, the W08, with praise after setting the quickest time on Day One of pre-season testing.
Hamilton went a second quicker than the fastest time set in practice here last year, with 1.21.765, while the 2016 mark was also bettered by Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari and Williams’ Felipe Massa.
The Briton is already the favourite for a fourth title this year following the surprise retirement of reigning champion and teammate Nico Rosberg.
The new cars are expected to be several seconds a lap quicker than last year’s once the racing starts in Australia on March the 26th.
