Hamilton applauds Mercedes’ record-setting mileage

Lewis Hamilton completed 117 laps on the final day of Formula One testing at Jerez on Wednesday, and believes it puts Mercedes in great shape for 2015 despite being outpaced by Ferrari this week.

Hamilton was third fastest today, behind Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Team-mate Nico Rosberg set the fourth quickest overall time of the week earlier in the test, with Hamilton in sixth place on combined times.

"[We] generally got some decent mileage, and although you always want more the reliability has been pretty special this week," said Hamilton. "Paddy [Lowe, team chief] just said it has been the highest week of mileage, so that's a surprise for us all, with Nico having good days with over 150 laps and for me to have an average of 100 laps on both days, it's great to see the work put in by all the guys in garage."

Hamilton shouldered the blame for a spin at the chicane this morning, which cost the team some running time, and admitted it was because he was the first on slicks on a damp track.

Comparing car to 2014 machine 

When asked to compare this car to his world championship-winning W05, Hamilton replied: "Every single car I've driven, it never feels good the first time because the car is its worst, the tyres are not good in the cold conditions here in Jerez.

"It never feels good the first time, that's just how it is, but you know that's the worst it's going to be this year because it will get better throughout the year.

"Overall the car feels very, very similar to last year, so very difficult to pick out any differences."

Not feeling threatened by Ferrari’s pace

Hamilton said he was unperturbed by Ferrari’s speed this week, as it topped the times in the majority of the sessions.

"I've not really been looking to be honest, I've just been focusing on doing my own thing,” he said. "I'm sure they're on different fuel loads to others, and they look like they're doing shorter, more attacking runs which we are not."