With day one of testing in the books, what happened and what can we learn?
With the first outing of the new F1 cars, the wait was finally over and the true potential of the cars and the rule changes started to show. Cars were clearly faster than previous years, 3.2 seconds from last year’s day 1 fastest time. But how did things go for the teams?
Mercedes (152 laps):
Mercedes recorded the most number of laps split between both drivers, with Bottas taking the first run before handing the car for his teammate for the day’s second session. Hamilton had 73 laps while Bottas recorded 79. Not only did they have the longest run but Hamilton was able to score the fastest lap time of the day with 1:21:765. A solid, untroubled day 1 for the reigning champions with a reliable car on the first day.
Ferrari (128 laps):
Vettel took over for the first day and was able to record 128 laps, most driven by one driver and second for teams overall. Vettel finished the day second on the timesheets after leading the morning session. Vettel was 0.113 second away of Hamilton, knowing that Vettel scored his fastest lap time on the medium tyres unlike Hamilton whose time was recorded on the soft compound. A great run for Ferrari who looks to be back in the competition after a disappointing 2016 season.
Williams (103 laps):
Massa who decided to come out of retirement for one more season with Williams was in charge during day 1. He was able to record 103 laps, second most driver and third most between the teams. Massa was able to score the third fastest time as well almost 2 tenths of a second behind the Ferrari. Williams should be satisfied with their results for the first day.
Sauber (72 laps):
Marcus Ericsson had a smooth day and was able to have the fifth most number of laps between the drivers fourth between teams. Yet with the reliable run the Sauber failed to set a competitive time finishing last on the timesheet around 5 seconds from Hamilton. Can the team find the solution and get extra seconds out of the car?
Renault (57 laps):
Almost a full race distance covered by Renault’s newcomer Hulkenberg on his first day behind the wheel for the French team. The German had a consistent day but his best time was around 3 seconds of the top putting him only ninth overall.
Haas (51 laps):
On his first day with the team, Magnussen drove his Haas for fourth fastest time of the first day performing 51 laps. The Danish was almost is second adrift of the top. The US based team had a good first day overall with good timing and an average amount of laps performed.
Toro Rosso (51 laps):
Sainz took out the Toro Rosso for the first day of testing running for 51 laps. The Spaniard’s fastest time put him around 2.8 seconds away from top spot and ranking it eighth overall. Not the best day for Toro Rosso.
Red Bull (50 laps):
Daniel Ricciardo caused the first red flag of the season after stopping his car at turn 4, with what was later announced by the team a sensor issue. The car was back in the garage and later a battery issue surfaced. It was a while before the Australian was back on track but he was able to recover and score 50 laps after all. His best time was 1:22:926 placing him fifth overall. Not the best start for Red Bull but they were able to bounce back and make the best of the time they were left with.
Force India (39 laps):
Sergio Perez had a good morning run in the new Force India but was later forced to stop for the afternoon. The team described the problem as a technical issue and had to stop their program for day 1. The team were ninth for the amount of laps performed while they were able to score seventh fastest time overall.
McLaren (29 laps):
Another frustrating first day of testing for McLaren with Alonso only able to record one lap in the morning before an oil system issue brought him into the pits. Alonso’s day then restarted late and was only able to perform 29 laps, fewest among all, scoring the tenth fastest time. McLaren and Honda announced that the problem was not fully solved and would have to wait for tomorrow for a full solution.
