Winter Testing Summary – Week 1: Hamilton and Vettel Still Ahead

We take the same and start again! This first week of winter testing on the Barcelona track hasn’t really created surprises, as it ended up with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the top of the timesheet after the four days of testing.

Strongly disrupted by unpredictable weather, the first laps of the 2018 single-seaters are not yet truly indicative of the forces at play. While few changes in the technical regulations might suggest that the hierarchy won’t change much compared to last year, it will be necessary to keep a close watch on McLaren’s progress, which switched to a Renault engine over the winter and placed its MCL33 in the 3rd position for best times with Stoffel Vandoorne.

To a lesser extent, the Renault team also seems to have made progress and expects even more gains during the second test session starting tomorrow. Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz are positioned 9th and 11th, just behind the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, the Mercedes, the Ferraris, and an impressive Kevin Magnussen in his Haas.

The first pre-season test is over – and a familiar name returned to the top of the times on the final day #F1Testing returns on Tuesday 👊#F1 pic.twitter.com/hNoDmje5LT

— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 mars 2018

At the bottom of the standings, Force India and Sauber are slightly behind. A logical position for the Swiss team but less so for the Indian team, amid rumors regarding its acquisition and having given very little track time to its two main drivers, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon.

The mileage covered by teams is also a good indicator of form. And in this comparison game, it’s the surprising Toro Rosso leading the way. Switched to the much-criticized Honda engine last winter, the Italian-Austrian team completed over 1,500 km in three days; one day being useless due to snow. Mercedes and Ferrari also showed reliability, but unfortunately, Force India is at the back with less than 800 km, nearly half as much as Toro Rosso, which might be an important rival during the season for the Indian team.