Lorenzo tries F1: "The grip of the car is unreal!"

Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took to the track at Silverstone Circuit once again recently – but this time not on the two wheels of his Yamaha, but at the helm of Lewis Hamilton’s 2014 F1 title-winning Mercedes. Lorenzo, who shares key sponsor Monster with Mercedes AMG Petronas, got to try out the W05 Hybrid with which the Brit took the 2014 F1 crown with support from the energy drinks giant.

Preparing for the test in the simulator and the F2 car, Lorenzo’s longtime wish to try out life in F1 has now become a reality – and the 3-time MotoGP™ World Champion impressed the Brackley-based team during the time on track together.

Jorge Lorenzo: “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. 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.”

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Track Engineer Richard Lane: “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 Jorge and we wish him all the very best for the rest of the MotoGP season.”