Barcelona Pre-Season Test – Day 7: Ferrari vs Mercedes, a game of dupes at high speed
Sebastian Vettel stunned everyone by taking the absolute record to the 1'18 mark. But beware, the Reds, like the Greys, still have more than one trick up their sleeve...
Hardly shaken by the football upheavals of its Barcelonan neighbor, the town of Montmelo was once again filled with the sweet sounds of hybrid turbo V6s this Thursday morning, for the seventh time in eleven days.
The peculiar release of Vettel
In the realm of satisfaction, Ferrari is always well-positioned. After Räikkönen on Friday, the Scuderia took the lead with its other driver. Vettel succeeded the Bottas-Mercedes duo, who were in the lead 24 hours ago. In Catalonia, the German pushed the benchmark to the confines of 1:18… precisely 1:19.024! Before this morning’s performance on ultra-softs, the four-time world champion even closed in within 1/10th of the previous day’s best time… on soft tires!
Under pleasant weather conditions (20°C in the air and 33°C on the track at the best of the day), Sebastian Vettel flexed his muscles by seizing the absolute record of these winter tests. But more than the stopwatch, it is indeed the attitude of Scuderia Ferrari that is at the heart of all speculations. Not revealing all its cards, the former Red Bull driver took the reflex of slowing down at each of his best attempts, between exiting the last corner and the start/finish line. A bold choice, illustrating the potential of the SF70H. Consistency is still impressive with a series of laps around the 1’19 mark, for a final tally of 156 laps.
The Ferrari driver left the record for the third sector to another competitor. Unsurprisingly, it was Lewis Hamilton, who finished second in the day’s standings. The three-time world champion, who only drove in the morning session, experienced the same ultra-soft tires. Paradoxically, he achieved his best third sector on soft tires. Therefore, the absolute times of both teams should be taken with caution. Perhaps also due to the relative lack of sleep of the Mercedes star, after properly celebrating his friend Neymar’s qualification with FC Barcelona last night at Camp Nou.
.@LewisHamilton, un culé más en el Camp Nou: celebró el pase del Barça ante el PSG con @neymarjr https://t.co/ehrzpKjaMy #F1 pic.twitter.com/XgdM02cHkB
— AS Motor (@AS_Motor) March 9
In any case, the game of small phrases is already delightful between the headliners of the two camps. On Wednesday, Niki Lauda remarked that the new Ferrari is “evolving on rails” compared to a Mercedes that is “a bit more nervous in certain corners.” These statements themselves were in line with those of Lewis Hamilton, who admitted on Tuesday that Ferrari is the “current favorite this season.”
A flattering status but quickly dismissed by Sebastian Vettel: « Our car is better than last year, especially thanks to the changes imposed by the regulations. However, you have to look at the number of laps completed by Mercedes while remembering how slowly they run in tests. They are still the team to beat. »
McLaren and Renault: we take the same …
Behind the leading figures, we find a Frenchman, Esteban Ocon. A Force India showing progress and demonstrating good reliability with another day exceeding 100 laps, ahead of a Toro Rosso driven by Daniil Kvyat. The Russian caused the first red flag of the afternoon with a stop at turn 5 during siesta time. Still in contention, Magnussen’s Haas secured fifth place with a best time of 1:20.504, the benchmark of the afternoon session.
Behind Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, a discreet sixth, Vandoorne’s McLaren is still under the yoke of troubles. Electrical problems are this time the cause of the two morning stoppages for the Belgian driver’s car.
Stoff’s back out on track after an electrical issue stopped play. Now for the afternoon’s run plan. #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/E5C3I10E83
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 9 /f1/actualite/21754-essais-pre-saison-barcelone-jour-6-bottas-nouveau-record-raikkonen-dans-le-gravier.html
Studious on race simulations, Bottas did not really chase the clock this afternoon. Like most of his afternoon peers, indeed. The Finn completed a total of 95 laps for his employer. He leads ahead of the two Saubers and the Renault, driven by Jolyon Palmer. The R.S.17 also suffered again, as you might say. The Brit abandoned his wounded beast due to an engine problem, this time in the tenth turn. These Franco-British troubles prevented the initially planned appearance of Nico Hülkenberg, who will have to be content with tomorrow to complete his program.
Finally, the bottom of the table is completed with the duettists from Williams. Last week’s chaos has given way to serenity, with an impressive total of 165 laps to conclude. The final kilometers of the pre-season are now in sight this Friday!
