Summary of the two days of private testing in Barcelona

These tests that followed the Spanish Grand Prix are part of the four mandatory test days per season, with teams having two more test days after the Hungarian Grand Prix, which will be held in August. Each team is required to field drivers who have participated in fewer than three Grand Prix on two of the four scheduled days.

Tuesday, May 15 – Day 1:

The fastest driver of the day turned out to be Max Verstappen for Red Bull with a best time of 1:17.528 on hypersoft tires, which would have earned him seventh place on the grid. This range was highly favored by the teams for the Monaco Grand Prix. In second position for the day was Carlos Sainz in the Renault with a best mark of 1:17.562, also on hypersofts. This time was a few tenths better than his qualifying time.

Next was Sebastian Vettel, who had focused mainly on stints with medium and soft tires. This allowed Ferrari to confirm that the tire change for this race weekend (with a tread that is 0.4 millimeters thinner) was perfectly justified as it would have resulted in excessive overheating. At the end of the day, his best lap was completed in 1:17.659 on soft tires.

The fourth best time was set by Romain Grosjean in his Haas with a reference lap of 1:18.449, still on hypersoft tires. Right behind was F2 driver Nicholas Latifi in the Force India. The Canadian managed a good lap of 1:18.530 with the cars equipped with hypersoft tires.

In sixth place was Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes, having to test additional lights fixed on his rear wing on behalf of the FIA, which could be adopted on single-seaters in case of rain, so that competitors can more easily find their bearings on the track. This did not prevent the Briton from setting a fastest lap of 1:18.543 on medium tires.

Behind, McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne took seventh place with a time of 1:18.891 on hyper-soft tires. F2 driver Lando Norris was in the second McLaren to focus on tests with Pirelli. They were followed by Antonio Giovinazzi in the Sauber, Oliver Rowland in his Williams, and George Russell in the Force India, scheduled for Pirelli testing. The last two drivers were Sean Gelael in the Toro Rosso and Oliver Turvey, who took over from Vandoorne for the afternoon.

**Verstappen**, Red Bull, 1:17.528, 148 laps (Hyper-softs), **Sainz**, Renault, 1:17.562, 119 laps (Hyper-softs), **Vettel**, Ferrari, 1:17.659, 136 laps (softs), **Grosjean**, Haas, 1:18.449, 129 laps (Hyper-softs), **Latifi**, Force India, 1:18.530, 107 laps (Hyper-softs), **Hamilton**, Mercedes, 1:18.543, 151 laps (mediums), **Vandoorne**, McLaren, 1:18.891, 85 laps (super-softs), **Giovinazzi**, Sauber, 1:19.693, 135 laps (Hyper-softs), **Rowland**, Williams, 1:20.009, 121 laps (Hyper-softs), **Norris**, McLaren, 1:20.997, 76 laps (development tyres), **Russell**, Force India, 1:21.478, 123 laps (development tyres), **Gelael**, Toro Rosso, 1:21.935, 50 laps (Hyper-softs), **Turvey**, McLaren, 1:23.070, 58 laps (softs).

In for lunch at #F1Testing 🍽 @Max33Verstappen back in the garage after 75 laps and a best time of 1:19.207 in Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/cZW7eHMhTn

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 15 mai 2018

Wednesday, May 16 – Day 2:

The fastest driver on this second day was Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes with a best time of 1:16.904 on a set of super-softs, seven-tenths slower than his qualifying time. Behind him was Antonio Giovinazzi this time in the Ferrari. The Italian driver was suffering from severe stomach pains. This didn’t stop the third Ferrari driver from completing 148 laps and setting a benchmark time of 1:16.972 equipped with hyper-soft tires.

The third place of the day was occupied by Lando Norris in the McLaren, after a Tuesday dedicated to Pirelli tires. With the best lap time of 1:18.039 on softs, which would have earned him the eleventh place on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. The young Briton’s car also triggered a red flag after stopping on the track.

In fourth position was Kevin Magnussen in his Haas with a best lap time of 1:18.274 on hyper-soft tires. The American car also experienced some minor problems due to faulty data acquisition. Behind the Dane was the young GP3 driver Nikita Mazepin at the wheel of the Force India. The Russian set a best time of 1:18.344, still equipped with the softest tires in the Pirelli range.

REPORT: Get the latest word from @ValtteriBottas and Shov before we sign off from @Circuitcat_eng 👇 https://t.co/qWVi692Qnk

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 16 mai 2018

In sixth place was Renault development driver Jack Aitken, fresh from his first F2 victory this weekend. His benchmark time was 1:18.942 on medium tires. Further back were Charles Leclerc in the Sauber and Robert Kubica in the Williams. The British team’s test driver was busy trying to better understand the source of the issues affecting the car.

Finally, the next driver in the hierarchy was Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso, taking over from Sean Gelael by improving the Indonesian’s time by one point three seconds. He was ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, who was driving the McLaren dedicated to Pirelli tests. The last lap times were set by the surprise guest Jake Dennis in the Red Bull, now more accustomed to GT racing, ahead of Sean Gelael and Nicholas Latifi in the Force India prepared for Pirelli tire tests.

**Bottas**, Mercedes, 1.16.904, 139 laps (Super-softs), **Giovinazzi**, Ferrari, 1.16.972, 148 laps (hyper-softs), **Norris**, McLaren, 1.18.039, 79 laps (softs), **Magnussen**, Haas, 1.18.274, 75 laps (hyper-softs), **Mazepin**, Force India, 1.18.344, 112 laps (hyper-softs), **Aitken**, Renault, 1.18.942, 120 laps (mediums), **Leclerc**, Sauber, 1.18.993, 139 laps (hyper-softs), **Kubica**, Williams, 1.19.253, 123 laps (hyper-softs), **Gasly**, Toro Rosso, 1.19.410, 38 laps (mediums), **Vandoorne**, McLaren, 1.19.914, 96 laps (development tyres), **Dennis**, Red Bull, 1.20.440, 74 laps (mediums), **Gelael**, Toro Rosso, 1.20.763, 83 laps (softs), **Latifi**, Force India, 1.21.412, 121 laps (development tyres)