Toto Wolff claims the new Mercedes car IS good enough to carry Lewis Hamilton to an eighth title

Toto Wolff proclaimed the new Mercedes potentially good enough to carry Lewis Hamilton to an eighth world title after a promising first day of pre-season testing.

A year after jaws fell to the garage floor, there was a more positive air about the initial mileage in Bahrain, scene of the opening race a week on Sunday. For one, the car was not bouncing along the track like a kangaroo.

It wasn’t that the Silver Arrows led the timesheets – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the fastest times in both sessions – but the fact they have a car they can work with.

‘You need to provide a good car for a driver who has the ambition to win races and championships, and we have that,’ said Wolff, saying the mood was ‘very different today’ from 12 months ago.

‘We have a solid base and will try to optimise the car, which we have not done yet. Today has been about finding if there are any areas that could be a real hindrance, such as bouncing.’ 

Toto Wolff is confident that Mercedes can carry Lewis Hamilton to the world title this year

The Silver Arrows enjoyed a positive first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday

Mercedes’ ambitious No 2 George Russell, who may yet prove a roadblock to Hamilton’s dream, completed the first session of the three-day programme, setting the then fifth fastest time, 1.2 seconds off Verstappen.

Hamilton – who grabbed a cheeky, close-up look by at the Red Bull during a filming period on the grid – took up duties behind the wheel later in the day and beat Russell’s time. He was sixth overall, 0.671sec from the top after 83 laps.

Aston Martin new boy Fernando Alonso was second fastest, followed by the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth best.

There were so few reliability problems through the field that testing time should be trimmed back. This is three days to satisfy engineers rather than serving any other purpose.

One hitch beset Aston Martin early on when Felipe Drugovich, standing in for the injured Lance Stroll, suffered an electrical glitch. A repair was made and the Brazilian carried on.

Hamilton (middle) is aiming to win a record-breaking eighth world drivers’ title this season