Just how easy is it to drive the Mercedes F1 car? Very easy

Jorge Lorenzo never drove an F1 car before – he's a bike racer. But with the Mercedes F1 car anyone can be fast and Lorenzo turned competitive lap times on his very first day

MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo says he was pleased to be on pace in his first-ever Formula 1 test with World Champion team Mercedes at Silverstone this week.

Lorenzo got his chance to drive the Mercedes due to common sponsor Monster Energy, and spent a day at the British GP venue in a 2014-spec W05 car.

He declared the car "quite easy" to drive in principle, but admitted that braking distances and grip levels in high-speed corners were "insane" and a "different world" to MotoGP.

"The past few days for me have been very special," he said. "I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the best engineers in this sport, drove the [GP2] car, had simulator test sessions and finally, I got to drive the real deal.

"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 40kph 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."

Positive feedback

Mercedes track engineer Richard Lane ran the test and commented: "It's been great working with Jorge. 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."