Barcelona Testing – Day 1: Chilton Finishes on Top, Ahead of Pic and Hamilton

The first day of private testing in Barcelona—marked by numerous red flags and rain—ended with a surprising result: Max Chilton finished on top, but the Marussia driver took advantage of super-soft tires to reach this level. He was more than two-tenths ahead of Charles Pic’s Lotus, which set its time on soft tires.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, set his time on medium tires and completed 79 laps; this is the second highest total after Giedo van der Garde, who conducted tire tests for Pirelli at the wheel of his Sauber.

Hamilton is thus ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, who returned to the track late after a morning engine problem. He caused a new red flag in the afternoon after going off into the gravel trap, which forced Ferrari to replace the floor of the F14-T.

Behind, Jean-Eric Vergne struggled today with his Toro Rosso, causing several red flags; the Italian team was conducting tire tests for Pirelli. Sebastian Buemi, who raced for Red Bull, caused another interruption due to a gearbox problem. He did not run during the last two hours of the day.