Lewis Hamilton has topped the first day of pre-season testing as Mercedes hit the ground running with a one-two finish at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Setting a 1m 16.976 midway through the afternoon session, Hamilton topped Bottas’ morning time of a 1m 17.313 by 0.337s, whilst Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was just 0.062s behind Bottas following a strong morning of running for the Silverstone based outfit.
Max Verstappen overcame an early afternoon spin to finish fourth although he did the most laps of the day, racking up 168 laps as five drivers mustered up over 100 laps of running today.
Alpha Tauri enjoyed a successful debut as Daniil Kvyat overcame early morning software issues to finish the day in fifth, whilst his best time of a 1m 17.698 was just 0.182s off the sister team of Red Bull.
Renault debuted their new car in full with Daniel Ricciardo finishing 0.131s ahead of Esteban Ocon in seventh and eighth respectively.
‘marked contrast’ For Williams
Embed from Getty ImagesWilliams meanwhile were first out of the blocks with George Russell at the wheel, representing a marked contrast to last season when the team missed the first two days of pre-season testing.
Nicholas Latifi got his first taste of the new Williams this afternoon but could only go 12th fastest overall and 0.214s slower than Russell who managed to set the ninth best time of the day.
Carlos Sainz however set the early pace for McLaren before Bottas and Perez showed their hand, only to then hand the car over to Hamilton and Lance Stroll for the afternoon session.
Sainz ultimately ended the day in sixth whilst Stroll finished tenth and 0.907s slower behind Perez, as Racing Point focused on different programmes with their driver.
Ferrari endured a frustrating day of running after Sebastian Vettel came down with suspected flu symptoms, forcing Leclerc to do a full day’s running in which they encountered various issues as the Monegasque finished 11th and 1.313s off Hamilton.
Alfa Romeo’s new Test Driver – Robert Kubica enjoyed a strong morning as he finished 1.710s quicker than regular driver, Antonio Giovinazzi who could only muster up a 1m 20.096s to finish slowest.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen sandwiched the Alfa duo as Haas focused on a different programme to most teams, on a day which saw no red flags which is rare in pre-season testing.
2020 Pre-season testing – Day One Results:
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1m 16.976 (94 laps)
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 1m 17.313 (79 laps)
- Sergio Perez (Racing Point) – 1m 17.375 (58 laps)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 1m 17.516 (168 laps)
- Daniil Kvyat (Alpha Tauri) – 1m 17.698 (116 laps)
- Carlos Sainz (McLaren) – 1m 17.842 (161 laps)
- Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) – 1m 17.873 (54 laps)
- Esteban Ocon (Renault) – 1m 18.004 (62 laps)
- George Russell (Williams) – 1m 18.168 (73 laps)
- Lance Stroll (Racing Point) – 1m 18.282 (50 laps)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1m 18.289 (131 laps)
- Nicholas Latifi (Williams) – 1m 18.382 (63 laps)
- Robert Kubica (Alfa Romeo) – 1m 18.386 (59 laps)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 1m 18.466 (103 laps)
- Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) – 1m 20.096 (78 laps)
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