Barcelona Test 1 – Day 1: Rosberg by a Whisker

It is written that Mercedes team’s tests will be atypical: after experiencing two technical issues during the first two days in Jerez and ultimately completing over 280 laps over the last two days, the Brackley team had to miss a significant part of the day due to a gearbox problem. Immobilized for nearly four hours – including an hour lunch break – and stuck at 14 laps for a long time, Nico Rosberg was still able to get back on track around 3:10 PM. He managed to cover a total of 54 laps and set the fastest time at 1:22.616.

Behind him, it was the very inactive Kimi Räikkönen who stood out, clocking a time of 1:22.623, falling short by 7 thousandths of a second to the German. Very inactive because the Finn covered “only” 44 laps, which is only 2/3 of a Spanish Grand Prix (66 laps), and the lowest total among all the drivers. The Lotus driver did not complete any stint of more than four laps during this first day, instead opting for two-lap stints.

In third position, a returning figure in the person of Fernando Alonso. The 2012 vice-world champion completed his first laps in the Ferrari F138. He certainly wasn’t idle as he crossed the finish line of the Catalunya circuit 110 times, making him the most active driver of the day. He encountered no problems and recorded a time of 1:22.952, three-tenths off Rosberg.

Behind this trio, Sebastian Vettel, who led for much of the day, is the last driver under 1:23.000. With 66 laps completed, he just about covers the distance of a Grand Prix in Barcelona. After a very quiet start, only beginning to drive from 10:45 am, the German experienced a calm day without notable incidents, in line with the Jerez tests.

A significant gap separates these four men from Pastor Maldonado, who debuted the new Williams FW35—a successful run with 86 laps completed, the second-highest total—and from Daniel Ricciardo in his Toro Rosso. Following them are Sergio Pérez, whose McLaren apparently has not yet shown its full potential on the Catalan track, Paul di Resta, active on the track with 82 laps, Esteban Gutierrez who was responsible for one of the two red flags of the day in the morning by intentionally causing a fuel shortage in his Sauber, and Max Chilton behind the wheel of his Marussia.

As for Charles Pic, his day was cut short quite quickly in the middle of the afternoon after stopping on track due to a gearbox problem.

If you want to know in detail what happened today, you can relive the live coverage of the day.

**The ranking of the first day of testing in Barcelona 1:**