Lewis Hamilton was left content after Mercedes enjoyed a strong start to Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona, posting the fastest time and recording more laps than any other team.

Mercedes hit the ground running by completing 152 laps on day one at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with on-track duties being split between Hamilton and new teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton finished the day one-tenth of a second clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at the top of the timesheets, but ominously stressed Mercedes' focus was on reliability, not outright speed.

“It has been a good day and a positive day for the team. We have gained lots of laps and lots of information to try and improve the car,” the three-time champion said.



“This is day one. We have not done any work to get the balance perfect. Today is all about ticking off the check points of the car and getting reliability. In days to come, we will start to improve the car.”

Hamilton spoke warmly of the appearance of his new Mercedes W08 EQ Power + car, which sports an aggressive new look following the introduction of new technical regulations to F1 for 2017.

“It is a beast. It is so much better than last year,” Hamilton said. "It is much more beefed up version of the car we have had in previous seasons. It was a great first day to get that many laps in and our car looks the best.

"The cars look fantastic, the tyres look fantastic, the wider wheels, the wider body and the wider chassis. Hopefully it is great for the fans.”

Despite Mercedes' strong start to testing, Hamilton remained coy when asked about the favourite tag that has been given to the defending champion team heading into the 2017 campaign.

“Firstly, people always want to big you up at the beginning of the season,” Hamilton said. “Secondly, we are world champions, and three our car looks a thousand times better than everyone else's so [being favourites] would be expected.

“We are still the team to beat in terms of we are the champions still. We have a lot of work ahead of us as does every other team.”

The Mercedes take on the fin... some very interesting detailing on it though.

Spot the duct outlet for cooling near the bottom.
— GP F1RST (@GPF1RST)