Did F1 just waste a week? The circuit photographers may have captured many pretty pictures from Barcelona’s winter wonderland, but beyond that, very little was achieved during the first test. A green, newly resurfaced track – spliced with occasional wintry showers – truncated running on the first two days, before a dusting of heavy snow on Tuesday night put pay to any meaningful running on Wednesday.
This withstanding, on Thursday the reigning champion still did not miss an opportunity to fire a warning shot across the bows of his rivals with an impressive lap on medium tyres. How Lewis Hamilton and his rivals compare when softer compounds are fitted for the usual qualifying simulations promises to be the major narrative of the second test.
Elsewhere Toro Rosso will be looking to build on the deeply impressive reliability the Honda power unit showed last week to perhaps infuse a level of performance that has been equally elusive for the Japanese marque. Similarly, Sauber’s cautiously anticipated renaissance also appears unlikely unless it can show some speed in the coming days. This is Read Motorsport‘s essential spotter’s guide for the second and final test:
