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closeLewis Hamilton happy with new McLaren F1 car after testing in Spain
The Associated Press
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008
JEREZ, Spain – Lewis Hamilton gave McLaren’s new car a thumbs up Thursday after clocking the fastest time in his first spin of the season.
The Englishman finished in 1 minute, 19.132 seconds from 103 laps in the MP4-23 car.
“My first impressions are encouraging,” Hamilton said. “Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that. We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from.”
Teammate Heikki Kovalainen, who replaced Fernando Alonso after he signed with Renault, managed a 1:19.462 from 101 laps around the 2.75-mile Circuito de Jerez.
Hamilton and Kovalainen continue testing Friday and next week. Alonso will get behind the wheel of a Renault for the first time since winning his second straight world championship in 2006.