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From MotoGP to Formula 1, for Jorge Lorenzo the transformation took place in one day. The setting was the Silverstone circuit and his companion was the Mercedes W05 that was 2014 world champion with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel.
The Majorcan had car and track all to himself and he made the most of the experience. In fact, he put forth his best effort, pushing the envelope on his limits in an unfamiliar world.
“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 admits - 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.”
In other words, the Mercedes, a beast that strikes terror into the hearts of common mortals. But we are talking about a 5-time world champion here.
“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” Lorenzo was keen to point out.
After all, it would be ludicrous to think that a racer would settle for a leisurely drive around the track and Jorge was no exception. At the end of the day, he recounted his sensations.
“The car is so smooth, I expected a more twitchy and difficult car but in the end everything was so good - were his words - It was quite easy to drive and the car in the corners is really, really fast and the grip of the car it’s 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.”
The Mercedes track engineer, Richard Lane, said Lorenzo passed the test: “It’s been great working with Jorge today. 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 with every run. It’s been a great experience for us to work with him.”
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