Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona
It’s been 81 days without Formula 1 and today, it was the first day of pre-season testing at Barcelona.
Encouragement for the Ferrari’s who ran close to the Mercedes – on the slower tyres whereas McLaren and Red Bull both suffered with unreliabilities. The Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo braking down twice.
Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona – Mercedes
Business as usual for the World Champions – the Mercedes team was fast, reliable and overall, impressive!
Hamilton’s new team-mate, Bottas ran the car all morning until Lewis Hamilton took over in the afternoon for running of the car.
Completing 150 laps between them – Valterri Bottas ran on the medium tyres whereas Hamilton used the soft compound tyres – setting the quickest lap time of the day.
Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona – Ferrari
It’s the first time in four years that Ferrari didn’t set the fastest lap time on the opening day of pre-season testing however the team looked reliable, impressive and close to the Mercedes team.
Vettel did all the morning-run on the medium tyres and in the process he set the second-quickest lap time of the day. Out-pacing Bottas on the same tyre compound.
Vettel, the four-time world champion was the first driver to break the 100-lap mark, ending his run at 128 laps.
Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona – McLaren
It was a disappointing start for the McLaren team – braking down after just an installation lap and needing a complete engine change and seven hours of no running during the testing session.
Once the car was up and running, Fernando Alonso then completed 29 laps – the lowest amount from any driver of the day with a best lap time of 1:24.852.
Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona – Red Bull
The surprise of the day was with Red Bull – expecting a lot more from them, they had a sensor failure on Daniel Ricciardo’s car and then a faulty battery causing him to breakdown.
With many people expecting a fight between the Red Bull’s and Mercedes this year – the first day really didn’t go well for the team however Christian Horner, team principal, downplayed the problems for the team with Ricciardo setting 50 laps and finishing fifth on the time sheets.
Formula 1 2017 Testing – Barcelona – Sauber
Sauber had a productive day in Barcelona setting 72 laps overall.
Marcus Ericsson – “It’s great to finally be back in the car after a long winter. The new car was fun to driver and it is nice to feel that there is more potential.“
“We had some minor issues but on the other hand it was the first time we were running on the car properly.“
“Overall, it has been a productive day and I completed 70 laps overall, now we need to go from here and have a successful week of testing – the two main areas in which I feel are the biggest difference this year is that the car is faster in high-speed corners and the braking performance is better.”
Here is the timesheet from Day One
Barcelona Testing
1- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 73 laps, (Soft Tyres) 1:21.765
2 – Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 128 laps, (Medium Tyres) 1:21.878
3 – Felipe Massa, Williams, 103 laps, (Soft Tyres) 1:22.076
4 – Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 51 laps, 1:22.894
5 – Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 50 laps, (Soft Tyres) 1:22.926
6 – Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 79 laps, (Soft Tyres) 1:23.169
7 – Sergio Perez, Force India, 39 laps, 1:23.709
8 – Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 51 laps, 1:24.494
9 – Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 57 laps, 1:24.784
10 – Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 29 laps, 1:24.852
11 – Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 72 laps, 1:26.841
More to follow
xxx
