Sixty-four days ago, the first pre-season Formula 1 test got underway at Jerez. On that Tuesday in January any idea that in less than two months, these cars would have been even remotely capable of contesting a grand prix seemed absurd.
Ten cars were hoping to run at Jerez that day, but only eight managed it (Marussia and McLaren proved not to be ready). In total, those eight cars managed a grand total of 93 laps, some of them sounding like a bag of rusty nails on the rare occasions they ventured out.
Appropriately enough, the Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton was the first to take to the track for an installation lap, but aside from that things were quiet.