Lap times final day of 1st Catalunya F1 testing

Weather: morning: cloudy and rainy; afternoon: cloudy/sunny and damp/dry; air 9° – 16°C, track 9° – 18°C

On Wednesday almost no one was able to drive a lap around the Catalunya circuit due to snow and freezing temperatures. The paddock was left playing catch-up on Thursday, as the first 2018 pre-season test came to a close.

Below the lap times you will find all the team comments about this test day. Running resumes in Spain next Tuesday with the second and final pre-season test, which again takes place over four days in Barcelona.

Fastest F1 testing lap times Thursday Catalunya

Mercedes

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, F1, Barcelona, Tests Valtteri Bottas

Wednesday's extraordinary snowstorm confined the Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ and its rivals to their respective garages, prompting teams to change plans and adjust programmes for the final day of the opening pre-season test.

With new team member Karl Snowman (@KarlSnowmanF1 on Twitter, in case you didn't know) watching on from the comfort of his fridge, teams got back to work as they attempted to claw back lost ground and gain as much info as possible on Thursday.

Because a whole day of running was lost, testing ran uninterrupted from 09:00 to 18:00 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with many teams opting to split running between their two race drivers to maximise track time.

Things still weren't particularly straightforward, though. Because the track was saturated in water for most of the morning, full Wet tyres were needed before the eventual switch across to Intermediates. Dry tyres made an appearance for the first time at around 13:00.

Valtteri Bottas was the first driver to bravely venture out on slicks - just before he handed the W09 over to team-mate Lewis Hamilton for the afternoon running, which (thankfully) took place in more suitable conditions.

Valtteri Bottas
As Valtteri was the first of the team's two drivers to get behind the wheel of the W09 on Thursday, he had to contend with damp but gradually drying conditions. It was no issue for the Finn, though, and proved to be an incredibly useful session.

Valtteri's best time of 1:22.789 on the Medium tyre was shuffled down to 12th place by the chequered flag, but he completed 60 laps in total - a very healthy tally, with plenty of valuable info gathered from his on-track exploits.

"We started in the wet today and got some very useful running done on both the Wet and the Intermediate tyres," he explained.

"I did a long run of roughly 30 laps on the Intermediates and could really feel the track conditions evolve during that run. We got some insights into the Intermediate tyres and their durability in temperatures like these.

"We later had a cross-over, changing from Inters to slicks tyres with a pit stop. That was very useful for the strategy team, but also for us as the drivers, as you learn a lot when you try and find the grip on the slicks and feel how the car behaves.

"I did about 60 laps which is what we had targeted. It would have been nice to drive a little more in the dry, but I think we made the most out of these conditions. Everyone in Brackley and Brixworth has done an amazing job, everything on the car worked so well since day one and the engine is running very smoothly as well."

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis enjoyed the bulk of the dry running during the afternoon and put down his first meaningful laps in the W09. Times quickly tumbled, as drivers started to find the limits of their new 2018 machines.

The four-time World Champion moved to the top of the leaderboard mid-way through the afternoon, with a 1:19.333 on the Medium tyre. He held on to the top spot by the end of the session to secure the quickest lap of the first test - and managed 69 laps in the process.

"Today has been positive, I'm so happy that I could get in the car and I'm really excited that I could get some running in," Lewis explained. "It's been the first time today that I've really been out to learn a lot more about the car and its characteristics.

"I got to see what she's like and stretch her legs a little bit. Driving a new car is like trying to crack a new code: you have to figure out which different techniques you need to get the most out of it. But the W09 feels like last year's big sister.

"Out on track, the Pirelli tyres have been very hard to get working in these unusually cold conditions but they feel pretty good once they are up to temperature.

"Of course we've got things to learn and things to improve on balance-wise but overall my feeling is positive. I'm really looking forward to next week and to getting back in and learning more."

Next up, there's a brief pause. But don't worry! F1's back in action next week, with the second test taking place in Barcelona from 6 - 9 March.

McLaren

Fernando Alonso McLaren MCL33 testing day 1 Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

A very positive and productive day of running at the fourth and final day of the first 2018 pre-season test.

Track conditions started very wet from heavy rain overnight, which made early-morning running tricky and meant a slower-than-usual start to the programme. As the track dried out Stoffel was able to quickly and efficiently run through a comprehensive test plan, which included key correlation, component and aero tests that necessitated all-important mileage.

As the track was kept green throughout the traditional lunch break, Stoffel continued consistent running into the mid-afternoon, when the team handed the reins over to Fernando at around 16:00hrs, giving him the opportunity to make up for some of the lost track time yesterday due to bad weather.

Stoffel completed a solid 110 laps and posted the second-fastest time of the day, while Fernando did 51 and finished fifth on the timesheets, bringing McLaren’s total for the final day of test one to 161 laps.

Stoffel Vandoorne
“Today was a very productive session for me. The day started off a little bit slowly with the bad weather conditions and it took a long time for the track to dry up, but even with that to deal with we still completed a lot of mileage and got a good understanding of the car.

“It feels good to get a good amount of laps on the board after we missed out a bit over the past few days. When the track started to dry I did some very good running, and completed a lot of set-up changes, trying to understand our package and how everything works together, and the feeling was positive.

“I finished today with 110 laps and it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do this. We had time to put Fernando in the car too for the final part of the session, so altogether a very productive day.”

Fernando Alonso
“I’m very happy with what has been an impressive day from the whole team in the garage and at the factory to put that amount of laps on the board between Stoffel and myself.

“The car ran perfectly all day. We did some interesting runs with some set-up changes, and we keep discovering more about the new package each time, especially with the integration of the Renault engine that was previously unknown for us.

“It was a very productive day for all of us and I’d like to say well done to everyone for working hard to get through a very full and comprehensive test programme today.”

Eric Boullier
“Today we’ve run reliably all day, which is a very positive way to end the first week of testing. We had some small glitches in the first two days which caused us to lose a disproportionate amount of track time, and the weather didn’t help any of us yesterday, but today everything fell into place.

“I’m happy we’ve finally been able to run a full test programme today and follow our plan, which has given us some solid data and feedback from the factory. Being ‘winter world champions’ on the timesheets is not of interest to us – the important things are mileage and learning – and today we’re very satisfied with what we have managed to achieve.

“Recovering mileage was our top priority in order to get back on schedule, and now we can regroup and use the data we’ve gathered to redefine our test programme for next week. Now we have the initial test programme done and under our belt, the objectives for test two are running a race distance and practising pitstops – we’re giving the latter more focus and new equipment this year, so that will be the key.”

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel Catalunya Barcelona Ferrari SF71H 2018

The 120 laps Sebastian Vettel drove today, brings the total completed by the SF71H over what was effectively just a three day session to 298, equivalent to 1387.19 km/h.

After yesterday’s snowfall, temperatures were very definitely on the up today at the Catalunya Track: at the end of the session, there had been a high of 12.7° air and almost 15 on track, but damp conditions in the morning still affected the work. It explains why, during the first few hours, Seb used wet weather Intermediate tyres, before switching to new and used Softs for the rest of the day.

The final part of the session was given over to long runs, which yielded a best lap during these tests of 1’20”241. “The afternoon wasn’t exactly ideal,” commented the driver, “because of the track conditions and also a bit of time lost in the garage to sort out a few details. I’d have liked to have driven more, but we can do that next week, when we will start to get a clearer picture.”

The team also did some pit stop practice. Testing resumes on Tuesday 6th March, running through to the 9th.

Haas

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Catalunya brought a reprieve to Formula One teams after wintry weather the day before prevented most from even venturing onto the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track. Slightly warmer temperatures greeted teams on the final day of the first week of preseason testing, but the effects of Wednesday’s snow and rain was still evident as the track remained thoroughly wet.

This meant the Pirelli Cinturato Blue full wet tire was the choice for the day’s start, with the Green intermediate tire appearing later in the morning. By early afternoon, the track was dry enough for drivers to switch to slicks.

Kevin Magnussen was back at the wheel of the Haas VF-18, looking to improve upon the 36 laps he logged on Tuesday (167.580 kilometers/104.129 miles). Teammate Romain Grosjean opened the first week of testing with 55 laps on Monday (256.025 kilometers/159.086 miles). Grosjean was unable to turn any more laps this week because of Wednesday’s wash out.

Magnussen wasted no time getting onto the track when it opened at 9 a.m. local time, making three reconnaissance laps on full wets. He transitioned to intermediates at approximately 11:30 a.m., with two eight-lap runs.

Haas F1 Team worked through lunch and shortly after 1 p.m., the track was dry enough for slicks. Magnussen donned a used set of Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires just before 1:30 p.m. and tip-toed around the track, as it remained slippery. A more involved, six-lap run that began shortly after 1:40 p.m. yielded a quick time of 1:24.286 on his 30th lap.

It was a sign of things to come, as in each subsequent stint, Magnussen bettered his lap time, first with a 1:22.768 on his 35th lap and then with a 1:21.764 on his next lap followed by a 1:21.509 on his 38th lap. His 39th lap brought him down to 1:21.477 before an even quicker tour on his next go-round generated a 1:21.135.

Magnussen made the switch to Red supersofts at approximately 3 p.m. He performed back-to-back seven-lap stints before a nine-lap run, with a 1:21.509 on his 56th lap during the second stint being the best. But it was during the last 90 minutes of the session where Magnussen pushed ever harder, recording a 1:20.640 on his 73rd lap and a 1:20.317 on his 81st lap.

A three-lap stint on Yellow softs followed by a 10-lap drive on supersofts ended the day.

When it was all done, Magnussen completed 96 laps to log 446.880 kilometres (277.678 miles). His quick time of 1:20.317 put him fourth overall among the 15 drivers who took to the track.

March 6 Magnussen will be back in the Haas VF-18. Grosjean returns to the car on Wednesday, March 7, with Magnussen getting his last preseason testing drive on Thursday, March 8. Grosjean wraps the final day of testing on Friday, March 9.

Kevin Magnussen
“It was a very good day. We got a lot of laps and, finally, the weather decided to behave. It was nice to feel the car and get the first touch of the car’s balance and performance. I’m looking forward to continuing the work next week. We’re happy with what we’re seeing and we have something to work with.”

Guenther Steiner
“A solid day. I think it’s a good end to a difficult testing session. The first few days were compromised by the weather, but today we got 96 laps in. We made some progress and we understand the car a little bit better. Next week we need to start from where we are now, get better, and then work toward being ready for Australia.”

Williams

Sergey Sirotkin Williams FW41 testing Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Paddy Lowe (Chief Technical Officer)
It’s been a very difficult week weather-wise but actually, we’re very happy to have made the most of the conditions we had. We’ve recorded huge amounts of data and we’ve achieved a lot of very reliable running without any failure and we’ve had our first look at the performance of the car on laps, although the final afternoon was the only day of anything like reasonable temperatures for running a racing car.

A great job has been done by the team considering this car had not even fired up a week ago and a great job by Lance, Sergey and Robert to manage the car in such difficult conditions without causing any damage. We look forward to coming back next week for hopefully some warmer weather when we gear up for some more representative performance testing.

Sergey Sirotkin
It was still quite a good, productive week. Of course, it was not ideal in some aspects, but I believe we squeezed the best out of the situation. It was nice to feel how the new car behaves on the track in different conditions. We haven’t got the full picture of the car yet but I think we can see some strong points and I believe we can make them even stronger, as well as correct the weaker parts.

Next week, we will have better weather and a better chance to do this. Today, we collected as much data and knowledge as possible about the car. I got some feeling for the car with quite a good amount of consistent wet running, so a reasonable amount of info about the car and myself.

Lance Stroll
My day was pretty good. I felt good in the car, the balance feels good. It’s not easy to warm the tyres, it takes quite some time to get them working but it shouldn’t be this cold during the year. My initial thoughts are the car feels pretty good. We have a lot of work to do and a lot to understand. The seat time is good, building confidence in the car. It’s a new car, with new balance, a lot has changed. I did quite a few laps this afternoon, that’s always positive in a first test.

Next week, it’s going to be a busier week than predicted because of the conditions this week. It’s been a big off-season for everyone and the expectations are high coming into this year. We definitely want to take a step forward. We know the competition’s difficult from other teams but that doesn’t bring us down, it should give us more motivation to go out and be the best we can be.

The FW41 will be back in action next week when pre-season testing resumes on Tuesday 6 March, concluding on Friday 9 March.

Force India

Nikita Mazepin (RUS) Sahara Force India F1 VJM11 Development Driver.

Sahara Force India wrapped up its first week of testing in Barcelona as Sergio Pérez drove the VJM11 for the first time.

Sergio Pérez
“With the snow and rain yesterday, I finally got my chance in the new car today. After three months away from the track, it’s always a special moment when you feel the power of an F1 car again. It really makes you smile. It’s just a shame the weather has been so poor this week. It’s limited our mileage and made things a bit more difficult.

Today was all about getting through the run plan and helping the team understand the car more. I think next week will give me a better idea of what we can expect when we arrive in Melbourne.”

Tom McCullough (Chief Engineer)
“The damp track this morning forced us to delay most of our running until the track conditions started to improve. When the circuit was suitable for dry tyres, we fitted a rake to the car and resumed the aero programme, adding to the data we gathered on Tuesday.

We worked through various parameter changes and all the usual tasks for the first week with a new car. It’s not been the easiest of weeks, largely due to the weather, but we are gradually ticking off the jobs on the schedule. Next week’s programme will focus more on tyre evaluation and performance running.”

Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen testing the Red Bull RB14 on circuit de Catalunya

Max Verstappen’s second outing of the first test in the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing R14 was something of a damp squib as wet weather and minor mechanical niggles led to a stop-start final day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The session started on a wet track, conditions that the Team deemed unsuitable for the kind of programme it had in mind. The result was a morning spent in the garage as Max and the crew waited for things to improve, a process that took some time as the recently resurfaced track stubbornly clung to the moisture that had fallen.

When the track allowed for the change to slick tyres Max spent much of his 35-lap outing engaged in aero work, with short runs being the order of the day. A mechanical niggle then affected running and late on Max then suffered a spin at Turn 12. The car was recovered but given the time required to turn the RB14 around the Team decided to call a halt to the day's running.

Max Verstappen
"Today we didn't do any performance laps, but when you have conditions such as this, which are not ideal, then it's best to just focus on making sure everything is working in the way you want and that the data you're getting from the correlates to what is happening in the wind tunnel and that's what we did."

"We had a couple of little hiccups today and in the afternoon I had a little moment where I went into the gravel. I tried to find the reverse but it got stuck and we have to look at why that happened. However, I'm quite happy with the car so far, and maybe the second week will show a bit more how we compare against our rivals. I certainly hope it's a bit sunnier next week."

Guillaume Rocquelin (Head of Race Engineering)
"The issues we had today are easy fixes and in general we're pretty happy with how the car runs, so now it's about building on what we have. The real difficulty this week was in not being able to maximise the time available and that was a bit frustrating. However, we are reasonably happy with what the RB14 delivered in its first outing and we now have a bit of time back at base to work on next week's test, when hopefully the weather conditions will be a bit kinder."

Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso STR13 in the pit

Pierre Gasly was at the wheel of the STR13 today, for the fourth and last day of F1 Test 01 here in Barcelona. Here the quotes from him and from the team.

Pierre Gasly
"It was really satisfying to have done so many laps today! It's only the second day for me at testing in the car so I was still learning many things about it and we still need to find the right directions to maximise the performance for Melbourne. It was really important for the team and also for myself to be able to learn so much!

We'll have to go through everything in the next couple of days before the second test, but it was a really positive day overall. I think the reliability of the engine is great -147 laps is more than double a race distance and we didn't have any issues. Hopefully we can carry on like this. I would say the first feeling with the car is positive – I'm happy with both the car and the engine. We should have a couple of new developments to test for next week, so it's a process where we will try to improve the car day by day, to get ready as much as possible for the first race."

James Key (Technical Director)
"It was good to have some normal running today, although we had wet conditions to begin with which took a surprisingly long time to dry during the morning but then dried very quickly over lunch time. That allowed us to get some wet running with Pierre in the morning and do a little bit of work on the inter tyres, understand how those tyres were behaving and what setup implications there could be.

We made some headway again on a few ideas on the car and Pierre seemed to be happy with the car in wet conditions. In the afternoon the plan was to try and catch up a little bit on the basic setup parameters that we wanted to study in preparation for next week.

We worked through a programme of some basic tests and learnt some useful directions to pursue further next week. We finished off with a series of long runs that permitted us to get our first view of the car and tyres over a longer run and slightly better track conditions. In that respect, I think it's been a good day and we'll go into T02 now with some development items arriving and start getting into the details of the cars' performance.

Our mileage accumulation plans have general worked well and been useful for this week. I think it's been an excellent test for Honda - they came here with a completely new engine after a lot of preparation work on their side, and on our side with them too. To come out of the test with no issues at all on the power unit side has been an excellent result and a situation we have never had during winter testing. With 147 laps today I think that's a record for the power unit era for Honda – we have been testing for effectively only three days so this is an outstanding achievement."

Sauber

Sauber C37 on the track

A first winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, which has been marked by challenging weather conditions, has come to an end. On the final day of test 1, Marcus Ericsson completed a total of 79 laps; Charles Leclerc took over the cockpit of the C37 in the afternoon, completing 59 laps.

Marcus Ericsson
“Today, we had the opportunity to gain insight into the behavior of our new car in wet conditions, while testing different tyre compounds. All in all, this first week has been quite insightful, despite the limitations that we faced due to the difficult weather conditions here in Barcelona. I have learned a lot, and look forward to continuing to make positive progress next week.”

Frédéric Vasseur (Team Principal)
“Overall, it has been quite a productive first week of winter testing for us, taking into consideration that we have been facing tricky weather conditions. We have gathered some useful data, which will allow us to establish the strengths and weaknesses of our new car, and prepare our programme for the second week of testing.

Our rookie, Charles Leclerc, has developed a first real sense of what the car feels like on track, and is becoming accustomed to all of the procedures very quickly. Marcus Ericsson has been able to give useful insight into the progress that has been made in comparison to last year, and the team is coming together very nicely. I look forward to next week.”

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