The first day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw Lewis Hamilton top the timesheets with a 1m21.765s, with Sebastian Vettel not too far behind.
The lap time set by the Mercedes driver was faster than the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix pole lap and was achieved on the soft compound tyre. Sebastian Vettel was not far off with his fastest time, with Ferrari only using the medium tyres during the first day of testing.
Felipe Massa’s 1m22.536 lap on the soft tyres during the afternoon was the first to be faster than the best time set during the winter test last season, and the Williams driver was just shy of getting a 1m21 lap time before the end of the day.
Haas‘ Kevin Magnussen went fourth fastest before the session ended, although the team didn’t get as much running compared to the teams above them in the standings.
Some teams ran into more trouble than others. McLaren was stuck in their garage for most of the day with an oil related issue, and when Fernando Alonso was sent out for a second time he came crawling into the pits again not long after.
For Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo was only able to get a few laps under his belt before a sensor issue brought his car to a halt in the morning, and other problems with the car meant he didn’t have much more action on track.
Force India, Sauber and Renault all had work to do in the garage during the afternoon, although Force India was able to put in 39 laps during the morning with Sergio Perez setting a 1m23,709
On the other hand, the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari were both quick and consistent. During the morning Valtteri Bottas drove 79 laps in the Mercedes with Sebastian Vettel putting in 62 laps, and they were the top two in the classification by lunchtime.
The talk after lunch revolved around Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton tested a shark fin part. People were quick to spot a unique exit duct in their design, although it’s a mystery as to how it will help the car.
