Barcelona Winter Testing – Day 1: Ricciardo on Top, Alonso in the Gravel!

The Formula 1 season was officially launched this morning with the first day of winter testing taking place on the Barcelona track. An initial 4-day session precedes another 3-day session in early March. These 7 cumulative days therefore represent the only opportunity for the teams to fine-tune their cars before the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia.

But before hostilities begin, there were two single-seaters left to be officially unveiled this morning. The Toro Rosso and Force India teams have respectively presented their STR13 and VJM11 in front of the entrance to their garage in the Barcelona paddock.

If the Italian-Austrian single-seater had already been seen during a promotional run last week, Force India had managed to hide the shapes and colors of its latest model, which was revealed to the photographers this morning.

Other teams also took advantage of this first meeting to physically unveil their single-seater, such as Haas for example, or Red Bull whose RB14 showcased its final colors.

Who wants a picture? @RGrosjean and @KevinMagnussen showing off the #VF18 to the international media at @Circuitcat_eng.#HaasF1 #F1 #F1Testing 🏎🇺🇸📷 pic.twitter.com/ufZDoidxKI

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) 26 février /f1/actualite/22524-officiel-toro-rosso-presente-la-str13-a-barcelone.html

The drivers present for this first day are Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Nikita Mazepin (Force India), Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso), Nico Hülkenberg (Renault), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Romain Grosjean (Haas), Fernando Alonso (McLaren), and Lance Stroll (Williams). Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Sergey Sirotkin (Williams), and Carlos Sainz (Renault) will take their teammates’ place for the afternoon.

It is under a cold temperature, around 10°, that the first laps of its new vintage Formula 1 cars take place. For the record, it is Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso that takes to the track first. But quickly, the session will be interrupted by a red flag already due to…a McLaren.

Finally free from the Honda engine, McLaren expected a much calmer winter. But that was without considering the stubborn nut on the right rear wheel of Fernando Alonso’s MCL33. The wheel came off, causing a spin in the last turn of the circuit, leaving the car and its driver immobilized for quite some time…

The wheels quite literally came off for Fernando Alonso earlier 👀

Just a handful of laps in – not an ideal start to #F1Testing for McLaren 😬#F1 pic.twitter.com/atANeIlr7L

— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 février /f1/actualite/22524-officiel-toro-rosso-presente-la-str13-a-barcelone.html

The rest of the morning will be calmer and no other incidents will occur, leaving the drivers to battle against the clock. Nico Hülkenberg, Kimi Räikkönen, Valtteri Bottas, and finally Daniel Ricciardo will each take turns leading the standings, but it is the Australian who will retain the best time of 1:20.179 on Medium tires before the midday break.

Also noteworthy is the strong performance of Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault, which with a time of 1:20.547 has already beaten his qualifying time at the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix. An encouraging start for the French team, which is looking to catch up with the front of the pack.

On the Honda side, the morning went smoothly as Hartley was able to complete 70 laps at the wheel of his Toro Rosso.

.@BrendonHartley is certainly earning his paycheck today!

He’s pushing hard and just finished his 88th lap! 👍 pic.twitter.com/3qPffz9Vb4

— Toro Rosso (@ToroRosso) 26 février /f1/actualite/22524-officiel-toro-rosso-presente-la-str13-a-barcelone.html

In the afternoon, the rain somewhat disrupts the teams’ schedule. The drivers on the track mostly use Soft tires, but the wear of the new compounds offered by Pirelli seems very low on a track that has been resurfaced but is usually demanding in terms of tires.

In the mid-afternoon, Räikkönen improves his own time but remains in 3rd place in the standings. Hartley is still the most active on track with his Toro Rosso, while Fernando Alonso was able to resume his program normally after his morning setback.

Lewis Hamilton, as expected, replaced Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, just as Carlos Sainz took Hülkenberg’s place and Sirotkin took Stroll’s. The Russian will take quite some time before setting his first lap time, but it won’t be very significant as he will finish the session more than 23 seconds behind Ricciardo’s best time.

A day that ends abruptly. The drivers, hindered by the rain, will even fit some Intermediate tires on their cars to cope with the storm hitting Barcelona at the end of the day.

🏁 AFTERNOON SESSION 🏁

RIC 1:20.179 (105)
BOT 1:20.349 (58)
RAI 1:20.506 (80)
HUL 1:20.547 (73)
ALO 1:21.339 (51)
SAI 1:22.168 (26)
HAM 1:22.327 (25)
HAR 1:22.371 (93)
STR 1:22.452 (46)
GRO 1:22.578 (55)
ERI 1:23.408 (63)
MAZ 1:25.628 (22)
SIR 1:44.148 (28)#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/vHnNLvAP3O

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26