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"I thought last year they would just ace that car really quickly. When we saw it in the paddock a year ago, it was like: 'Nobody is going to see that for dust', which was wrong.
"Clearly they've still got to finesse it, and they need to do it early. Remember, last year, Verstappen didn't score any points until the second race, and still smashed the world championship. They'll need to get in there quickly, will Mercedes Benz, and sort it."
Hamilton insisted Mercedes have a "mountain to climb" coming out of testing, during which he alluded to continued "balance limitations".
Testing meanwhile reflected favourably on Aston Martin to potentially burden Mercedes with another competitor as Fernando Alonso made a bright early impression having filled the seat vacated by the retired Sebastian Vettel.
"Clearly they've still got to finesse it, and they need to do it early. Remember, last year, Verstappen didn't score any points until the second race, and still smashed the world championship. They'll need to get in there quickly, will Mercedes Benz, and sort it."
Hamilton insisted Mercedes have a "mountain to climb" coming out of testing, during which he alluded to continued "balance limitations".
Testing meanwhile reflected favourably on Aston Martin to potentially burden Mercedes with another competitor as Fernando Alonso made a bright early impression having filled the seat vacated by the retired Sebastian Vettel.