Hamilton excited after 'awesome' W08 first run

Lewis Hamilton has described the Mercedes W08 as "awesome" and is excited to "unleash" the new car during pre-season testing next week.

Mercedes launched its 2017 car on Thursday at Silverstone, with Hamilton completing a number of laps in the morning as part of a filming day before the car was officially unveiled. While unable to push the limits of the car in difficult conditions, Hamilton says he has been keeping a close eye on the car build and is excited to find out its potential in Barcelona.

"It was incredible to be at the factory the last week or so just to see the guys really starting to put this car together," Hamilton said. "In the last hours of last night, watching the guys put the final pieces together is kind of crazy because you see the car growing in the wind tunnel – all the things they're trying – and then you see the mock-up of the things they're trying, and then down in the race bay you see all these different components start coming together from different sections of the factory and the car starts coming together like a jigsaw. It's quite incredible.

"But watching it last night, undoubtedly for me it is the most detailed car I think we have ever built as a team. It just shows the innovation and the technology that's advancing, and the engineers' knowledge of how to interpret design is evolving. At some stage you'll get to see more and more of the intricacies of the car, but it's fascinating for me.

"Today I drove it. It was damp when I drove so I was on the wet tires initially so the feeling wasn't spectacular because it's quite gusty, particularly round the back here at Stowe. Then we put the slicks on when it dried up a bit more and I was pushing a little bit and there was so much grip in Stowe because you had a massive headwind – which is the same as in a race when you have a headwind or tailwind there.

"The car doesn't naturally feel much different. You feel a bit wider, but my seat position, my whole cockpit, we made sure it's pretty much the same as it was before. We didn't have max power or anything like that so I don't get to unleash it really until next week."

And Hamilton believes the new cars are a step in the right direction for Formula 1, saying new owners Liberty Media now have the potential to improve the sport in many areas.

"Seeing Valtteri [Bottas] pull round Stowe just now and come into the pit lane, the car looks awesome. It really does. I think the cars look so much better than they have in the past. Whether or not that will reflect on the racing and the spectacle for the fans remains to be seen, but I hope it is.

"My opinion is only my opinion, you guys will all have your own opinion and the fans will have their own opinions of things, it's just that you ask me for my opinion and sometimes I give it. For example, the sound. Some people like it, some people don't. I don't, but that's not an unknown thing.

"I think Formula 1's future has the potential to be incredibly bright. With the new people coming in and the people who are still in the sport they have the opportunity to make it shine even greater than it already is."