Hamilton: Mercedes "way better" as F1 upgrades dial out porpoising

Hamilton and teammate George Russell put in a strong performance in Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix

despite the team's efforts to make a slew of alterations for Barcelona.

Russell finished second fastest in the more representative afternoon session

barely 0.117 seconds behind leader Charles Leclerc, with Hamilton a tenth behind.

Aside from the lap speeds, both drivers were pleased with how the Mercedes W13 felt

and that most of the porpoising issues that had plagued it since its debut in 2022 had been resolved.

"I'm positive, definitely," Hamilton said after the session. I'm quite pleased with the improvement

so a huge thank you to everyone in the factory for not giving up and continuing to push.

Because of the changes made for this weekend, Russell said the W13 seemed different than it had before.

Hamilton acknowledged that Mercedes was not yet in a position where all of its problems were resolved

but there was cause to be optimistic about the team's prospects.