Read more about Formula 1.
McLaren car leaves Lewis positive
Formula 1, 10:14, February 3, 2010 ,
Lewis Hamilton said McLaren's new Formula One car 'was everything I could have asked for' after testing in Valencia on Tuesday.
The 2008 world champion was disappointed 12 months ago as flaws in the 2009 McLaren subsequently left him well off the pace in the opening half of last season. The problems were resolved and Hamilton went on to win two races and ended the season on a positive note, despite missing out on a title defence.
However, after completing 108 laps in the new MP4-25, the British driver was feeling a lot happier about the upcoming season despite lagging behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari in Spain.
Hamilton said: "It's a different feeling compared to the first lap of the first test day of 2009.
"It's a positive feeling. I've kept a close eye on the development of this car. I've seen it evolve and had input into it which is very exciting.
"I got out smiling. The problems I had [last year] I don't have in this car."
He added: "This was everything I could have asked for from a first day. It's gone well.
"We felt quite comfortable with what we did, but obviously there is a bit of time we need to find and a lot of areas where we can improve.
"It's too early to say that this is a car that can challenge, but I do feel it's a huge improvement from the beginning of 2009.
"The encouraging thing is reliability. We've had two days and not really had any problems, and that's a huge plus for us.
"Ferrari seem very quick but we don't know what fuel loads everyone has got."