Barcelona F1 test day one
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Raikkonen, Sainz, Verstappen and Bottas are all on track at the moment. That's about as busy as we've had it at any individual stage this morning.
Verstappen is back into the pits after his first proper spell of running in the Red Bull Honda era. Sainz came in and tried to confuse us by going straight back out. We're better than that, Carlos...
Bottas has returned to the pits, so that leaves us with Raikkonen, Grosjean and Sainz circling on track.
The sun is bursting out over the grandstand for the small group of spectators who have come to watch today. No surprise, their favourite is Carlos Sainz.
Just as we say that, he returns to the pits to disappoint the onlookers. Raikkonen and Grosjean on track.
Just as we say that, he returns to the pits to disappoint the onlookers. Raikkonen and Grosjean on track.
He's got us! Sainz is straight back out after dipping into the pits.
There's a lovely Mercedes people carrier circulating the infield, but no sign of the same manufacturers' car on track just yet as Bottas lies seventh so far with 23 laps of running.
Testing is the first chance to have a detailed look at the parts of cars teams were keeping coy about in their well-managed launches. Here's a Ferrari 2019 rear wing
Crash
Grosjean has stopped at the entry to the final chicane.
Grosjean is out of the car. Still no red flag on track though...
There's a lot of marshals surrounding the Haas, presumably to try to uncover all of its secrets at the start of the season.
Red flag
And the red flag goes out.
Here's a view of the stranded Haas from the circuit cameras
The wonderfully retro recovery truck has gone to meet the Haas. Inevitably, it will be covered with some sort of sheet before it gets back to the pits. These F1 teams are a secretive lot.
This is the second red flag of the morning, the first caused by Kimi Raikkonen getting stuck in the gravel very early on at Turn 5.
The Haas is still being recovered. It has been covered, though. No investigating the Haas car's secrets until it's (hopefully) back out on track later.
The Haas is still being recovered. It has been covered, though. No investigating the Haas car's secrets until it's (hopefully) back out on track later.
Another look at the Haas recovery from our Technical Editor Jake Boxall-Legge, who's doing technical observations trackside at the moment
Not long before this break for the stopped Haas of Romain Grosjean, Max Verstappen got the first few laps of the Red Bull Honda-era underway.
The Dutch driver has now completed five laps, using the popular C3 Pirellis. That tyre is popular in the media centre too, as it's yellow is the only shade of the new Pirelli range that only has one tyre per colour. More C3 running please, F1 teams.
The Dutch driver has now completed five laps, using the popular C3 Pirellis. That tyre is popular in the media centre too, as it's yellow is the only shade of the new Pirelli range that only has one tyre per colour. More C3 running please, F1 teams.
The recovery truck is on its way back with the troubled Haas getting a piggyback. Hopefully that means we'll be back to full running soon.
One observation on that pic just below, by our brilliant technical editor Jake Boxall-Legge. The upright and removed headrest on that car looks, somewhat ironically, like someone cheering. No applause for a broken car, please.
Green flag
Green flag. There's an engine firing up, too.
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Sebastian Vettel is the first man out on track. He looked pretty racey just before the red flag for Grosjean's stoppage.
Verstappen is following him out now.
Verstappen is following him out now.
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That video clip of Raikkonen in the gravel is from much earlier in this morning's running. The 2007 champion caused 2019's first red flag by putting his Alfa off the road just five minutes into the session, and then - as the video shows - got stuck. But he was soon back out and challenging Vettel's Ferrari for the top spot.
Vettel sets off for a hot lap on the C2 tyres he's used all morning, the same ones that have powered him to the top of the timing screens.
Hulkenberg is edging out on track now too, and Perez has followed.
Hulkenberg is edging out on track now too, and Perez has followed.
Vettel goes even faster at the top of the board, with a 1m19.703s. That's a corker. Or is it? We'll have to wait and see until later in the day for that.
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Verstappen's first lap on the C3s isn't so impressive, but the two after are.
Vettel goes 0.292s quicker at the top of the order. Hulkenberg also improves on the C3 to a 1m21.633s.
Vettel goes 0.292s quicker at the top of the order. Hulkenberg also improves on the C3 to a 1m21.633s.
And the Racing dot of Sergio Perez is another improver here. That's second fastest and a 1m20.784s.
Hulkenberg, Perez, Verstappen and Vettel out on track now.
Perez is over three seconds slower next time round, so hopefully that's a cool-down lap for the car in hot pink.
Vettel was over 12 seconds slower last time by as well, so clearly that was just a fashionable time to have a rest before pushing again.
Joining the chill brigade on track now is Bottas.
Joining the chill brigade on track now is Bottas.
Perez improves by just over a tenth, that sneaky cool-down lap working a treat. He's done a 1m20.696s. He's green in the first sector, too.
No need for a relaxing lap for Perez. That 1m20.652s signals back-to-back improvements, and now he's gone purple in the first sector of the next lap, too.
Perez is into the pits now. He was running a pseudo C3 earlier, which was slightly different to the homologated tyres, for development purposes. That last stint where he improved on a number of occasions was on the proper C3.
Three cars on track in the emerging Barcelona sunshine now then, it's Hulkenberg, Bottas and Verstappen.
Bottas makes a slight improvement, still eighth of nine with a 1m22.500s.
Vettel joins for an out lap.
Bottas makes a slight improvement, still eighth of nine with a 1m22.500s.
Vettel joins for an out lap.
There's a sea of yellow on the timing board, which, put simply, means the drivers and teams need to work harder to entertain us.
Especially Vettel. He's come back into the pits after an out lap. Can we support a ban on installation laps?
Especially Vettel. He's come back into the pits after an out lap. Can we support a ban on installation laps?
A Racing . on track in the sunshine
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Hulkenberg and Verstappen – in true wrestling fashion – tag-in Sainz to conduct some running on C2s. It's just Bottas and Sainz on track, Bottas has been stuck around the 1m23s mark for the last few.
Should we be expecting more from the Merc at this stage? Probably not, there's plenty of time to throw those sandbags out of the cockpit.
Should we be expecting more from the Merc at this stage? Probably not, there's plenty of time to throw those sandbags out of the cockpit.
By: Geoff Creighton
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