Lewis Hamilton ‘felt like a kid’ getting to drive Mercedes’ 2022 Formula 1 car for the first time, at a shakedown where the first onboard footage of the new cars has been revealed.
Mercedes completed initial running with its W13 on Friday at Silverstone, amid Storm Eunice in the UK, with George Russell shaking the car down first and Hamilton taking over in the afternoon.
As part of its content around the launch, Mercedes has made available the first extended video footage of the new cars in action, including a short amount of onboard footage from both drivers’ runs.
While various teams have now released imagery from their shakedowns, this is the first onboard footage – which you can watch here.
“It’s very windy, damp, cold. Initial runs are always really important just to find out whether things are falling apart, whether you’re feeling uncomfortable in the car, no major issues,” said Hamilton.
“There’s a bunch of small things we have to change maybe within the cockpit, but generally it felt good.
“Today was very exciting just to get back in, there’s only two of us that get to go out there. It’s such a privilege.
“Even though I’m older, I feel like a kid today – raring to get going and just excited about next week.”
The first pre-season test begins at Barcelona on Wednesday, February 23. It will last three days, then teams will have a break for the second and final test in Bahrain from March 10-12.
