Double 250cc and triple MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo hailed his test of the 2014 Mercedes W05 F1 car at Silverstone as a ‘dream come true’.
The news was announced earlier in the week in the Spanish press that Lorenzo would be taking to the wheel of the car that took Lewis Hamilton to his second Formula One World Drivers’ Championship back in 2014.
The Spaniard has reportedly been keen on driving an F1 racer for some time, and had been looking at all the options possible to make that happen since June of this year. With the Mercedes F1 team, Movistar Yamaha and Lorenzo all sponsored by Monster Energy, the drinks giant was able to make the test happen as a parting gift for the Ducati-bound Spaniard.
To prepare for the test, Lorenzo completed numerous laps on a simulator before getting to grips with the Silverstone circuit on four wheels by driving a Formula 2 car.
The Spaniard was surprised at the car’s smoothness and likened the power of it to that from his YZR-M1 MotoGP bike. But the thing that stood out for the Spaniard was the grip and speed he had in the corners, as well as how deep he could brake into turns. According to the engineers, Lorenzo put in some pretty competitive times, though sadly they haven’t yet been released.
“First of all I want to say thank you to Monster Energy for giving me this opportunity. It has been a great experience, like a dream come true,” he said. “The past few days for me have been very special. I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the best engineers in this sport, drove the F2 car, had simulator test sessions and finally, I got to drive the real deal.
“Today I experienced driving a Formula One car. It’s been an amazing day. I’m very satisfied with the lap time in the last run. From what the engineers were saying, my times were really competitive. The car is so smooth, I expected a more twitchy and difficult car but in the end everything was so good: the steering wheel, the engine, everything.
“It was quite easy to drive and the car in the corners is really, really fast and the grip of the car is unreal. In the first lap you feel the power but when you get used to it, it’s similar to a MotoGP bike but in the corners, you are in a different world, about 40kms faster in the middle of the corners. Also it surprised me how late you can brake and the amount of grip the car can support in full throttle in the fast corners is insane.”
“It’s been great working with Jorge today,” said Track Engineer Richard Lane. “From the moment he arrived he’s been full of enthusiasm and keen to get stuck in. Between each run he’s been poring over the data, and looking to find areas for improvement. You can see why he’s a multiple World Champion on two wheels. His interest in the detail of his performance has been impressive. He’s taken feedback on board and improved every run. It’s been a great experience for us to work with Jorge and we wish him all the very best for the rest of the MotoGP season.”
Lorenzo will now head to Japan for the start of a gruelling Pacific triple-header starting next weekend, where he will be aiming to take second place in the standings away from teammate Valentino Rossi.
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