Barcelona F1 test day one
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Lap count approaching three hours in:
Vettel - 46
Bottas - 38
Hulkenberg - 38
Verstappen - 35
Sainz - 34
Raikkonen - 24
Perez - 12
Grosjean - 12
Kvyat - 12
Vettel - 46
Bottas - 38
Hulkenberg - 38
Verstappen - 35
Sainz - 34
Raikkonen - 24
Perez - 12
Grosjean - 12
Kvyat - 12
Bottas improves again, he's down to a 1m20.285s. It's not Ferrari or Red Bull-beating just yet. But he's edging closer, like a coiled viper.
BOTTAS. He goes third now behind Vettel and Verstappen, with a 1m20.393s. Still some way off Vettel's benchmark, though. Speaking of Vettel, he's pitted.
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Bottas introduces himself to the upper end of the timing board. "How do you do sir?"
He sets a 1m20.993s, to go fifth. And it's a personal best in the first sector of the next lap for him too.
He sets a 1m20.993s, to go fifth. And it's a personal best in the first sector of the next lap for him too.
The flo-vis paint tin is open at McLaren - this is what the orange/blue livery looks like with a splash of green
Bottas is out on the C2 tyre now, having used the softer-than-that C3s all morning. Similarly, Raikkonen has been on the C3 all morning and also switches to the C2.
Hulkenberg, Bottas, Vettel and Verstappen out on track. That's much clearer.
Vettel is back out, Raikkonen comes in then goes back out, and Bottas is out. Good luck making sense of that one.
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Speed trap figures at the end of the main straight:
Verstappen 320km/h
Perez 319km/h
Sainz 318km/h
Raikkonen 318km/h
Vettel 314km/h
Grosjean 307km/h
Yep, that really is a Red Bull-Honda at the top of the charts so far.
Verstappen 320km/h
Perez 319km/h
Sainz 318km/h
Raikkonen 318km/h
Vettel 314km/h
Grosjean 307km/h
Yep, that really is a Red Bull-Honda at the top of the charts so far.
With the Red Bull-Honda starting to make an impression, here's a look at Jake Boxall-Legge and Giorgio Piola's thoughts on what appears to be a classically aggressive Adrian Newey design that will put pressure on the team's new engine supplier:
Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Verstappen are all on track.
Vettel returns to the pits, after a successful 20 minutes or so on track where he destroyed his own top time.
Raikkonen is joining the fray after a mixed morning where he almost immediately put his Alfa Romeo in the gravel, but has sat in the top five in times most of the morning.
Hulkenberg's Renault is out now too.
Hulkenberg's Renault is out now too.
Red Bull-Honda up to second now
Vettel has hovered around the 1m18s mark for the last two laps, we'll keep an eye on how much he improves.
Hello Max! Verstappen jumps into second with a 1m20.174s. That's the best lap of the Red Bull Honda-era so far.
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Vettel goes fastest again, that's been written a few times this morning. It's a 1m18.425s, boosted by switching to the C3 tyres. Those are softer than the C2s he used this morning.
Vettel is now over two seconds fastest, the Racing dot of Perez the next best driver.
Vettel is now over two seconds fastest, the Racing dot of Perez the next best driver.
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The lap count so far. Vettel is on track, now joined by Verstappen.
Vettel - 38
Sainz - 34
Bottas - 30
Hulkenberg - 27
Raikkonen - 21
Verstappen - 19
Perez - 12
Grosjean - 12
Kvyat - 12
Vettel - 38
Sainz - 34
Bottas - 30
Hulkenberg - 27
Raikkonen - 21
Verstappen - 19
Perez - 12
Grosjean - 12
Kvyat - 12
Vettel, who has the most laps of anyone with 35 so far, is back out on track as Sainz pits.
Sainz is taking the role of entertaining the local fans to the maximum here, as he's the only car on track. Either that or he's loving the new McLaren. Or doesn't want to hand it over to new team-mate Lando Norris.
Your current pacesetter after 2.5 hours - Vettel's Ferrari
It looks like Carlos just needed some encouragement. He improves to a 1m21.230s and that's good enough for fourth overall. There's a handy table on your right, for the full times.
As we've mentioned there are only nine cars at the track so far because Williams's late-running 2019 machine is still yet to appear. You might've seen pictures on social media of a ROKiT-coloured Williams on the loading area of a team truck in the Barcelona paddock, but that's the show car used for livery pictures at the track on Saturday. The real FW42 is still awaited...
Bottas is back in now, and Sainz's last lap was over seven seconds slower than his best.
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.
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A Racing . on track in the sunshine
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?
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.
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.
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 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.
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 is over three seconds slower next time round, so hopefully that's a cool-down lap for the car in hot pink.
Hulkenberg, Perez, Verstappen and Vettel out on track now.
And the Racing dot of Sergio Perez is another improver here. That's second fastest and a 1m20.784s.
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.
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By: Geoff Creighton
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