Barcelona Testing – Day 1: Bottas Already the Fastest at the Break
After months of waiting, we finally got to see single-seaters on the track again. All the teams took advantage of the morning to carry out long and sometimes very long programs, like Red Bull, which is already at 91 laps.
After unveiling a few single-seaters early in the day, the teams began their testing program at 9:00 am.
Under a radiant sun, it was Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas who set the best time at 1:17.313, completing 79 laps. He was closely followed by Sergio Pérez in his new Racing Point RP20 at 1:17.375 and by Max Verstappen at 1:17.787 with no less than 91 laps, or 423.6 kilometers, which constitutes an impressive performance on the first day of winter testing.
It must be said that the teams are accustomed to the current configuration of the single-seaters. Indeed, there are very few changes between this year’s regulations compared to last season, so the teams are taking advantage of these tests to perfect their single-seater.
Nothing particular to report on track except for a few mistakes that made the rear of the cars dance.
Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari particularly analyzed the aerodynamics with sensors. Williams used paint to see the flow of fluids.
For his big debut behind the wheel of his Renault, Esteban Ocon is currently in 5th place with a time of 1:1.004 after completing no less than 62 laps. Charles Leclerc, who was initially scheduled for Thursday but had to replace an ailing Sebastian Vettel, posted the 7th fastest time of the morning at 1:18.289.
We will meet you again at 2:00 pm to follow up on the continuation of the winter tests.
Results at 1:00 PM on Day 1 of Barcelona Winter Testing:
|
N°
|
Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|
1
|
Bottas | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:17.313 |
79
|
|
|
2
|
Perez | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:17.375 | +0.062 |
58
|
|
3
|
Verstappen | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:17.787 | +0.474 |
91
|
|
4
|
Sainz Jr. | McLaren F1 Team | 1:18.001 | +0.688 |
64
|
|
5
|
Ocon | Renault F1 Team | 1:18.004 | +0.691 |
62
|
|
6
|
Russell | ROKiT Williams Racing | 1:18.168 | +0.855 |
73
|
|
7
|
Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:18.289 | +0.976 |
64
|
|
8
|
Kubica | Alfa Romeo Racing | 1:18.386 | +1.073 |
59
|
|
9
|
Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:18.466 | +1.153 |
55
|
|
10
|
Kvyat | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:18.484 | +1.171 |
54
|
