Barcelona Tests I – Day 1 (morning): Nasr on top, McLaren and Hamilton stalled

The first morning of private testing in Barcelona I was hardly disrupted, with only two red flags caused each time by the Lotus E23 Hybrid driven by Pastor Maldonado today. The Venezuelan was notably bothered by a sensor issue, which was nothing really problematic in the end as Maldonado managed to complete more than 40 laps at the wheel of his Lotus-Mercedes.

On the Force India side, Pascal Wehrlein started the morning at the wheel of a modified VJM07 before returning to Mercedes AMG F1 mid-morning to replace Lewis Hamilton, unable to continue his workday at the wheel, the Briton being ill – a flu according to Toto Wolff. Wehrlein was replaced by Sergio Perez in the Indian team.

Hamilton is not the only driver to have his day end prematurely, it’s also the case for Jenson Button who encountered a problem with the Honda power unit of his McLaren which requires a complete unit change, something that won’t be done by the end of the day. This could even impact Fernando Alonso’s track time tomorrow because the replacement part might only be ready by Saturday.

The most diligent driver on the track this morning is actually a female driver, Susie Wolff, who is driving the Williams FW37 today. The Scot managed to complete 77 laps, 23 more than Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and 33 more than Felipe Nasr (Sauber), leading at midday in terms of time.

Classification of Barcelona Testing I – Day 1 (13:00):