Jerez first 2015 test Test day one
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BEN ANDERSON reports from the pits that Rosberg suffered "a lot of wheelspin" on that practice start attempt.
Rosberg rejoins the action, stopping for a practice start before hand. The German sat at the end of the pits revving the engine several times before setting off.
Bottas takes the Williams out for its first lap of pre-season testing.
Alonso is back in the pits, so as predicted by BEN ANDERSON that was indeed a three-lap run for the McLaren-Honda.
Twitter
Don't expect to see a Lotus any time soon:
@Lotus_F1Team: "E23 is in the air on its way to Jerez after firing up in Enstone yesterday, arrival expected later today."
@Lotus_F1Team: "E23 is in the air on its way to Jerez after firing up in Enstone yesterday, arrival expected later today."
Stopwatch
Alonso posts a 1m40.738s as his first timed lap of 2015. That's 17s off the pace of Rosberg, but McLaren and Honda are working to a very different job list here in Spain.
Alonso stays out for a second lap for the first time today, as some McLaren personnel head for the pitwall to catch a glimpse of the car going past.
Alonso heads back out in the McLaren-Honda.
The track temperature is up to 16C now. No cars out on track. Currently fastest is Rosberg, 1.535s faster than Ricciardo's Red Bull. The Mercedes has also done the most laps, 31.
More from BEN ANDERSON on what McLaren is up to:
"The car is back in the garage and the screens are up following another single-lap run. This looks like the run plan McLaren racing director Eric Boullier wanted to get through in Abu Dhabi.
"If things go well expect some three lap runs from the McLaren later."
"The car is back in the garage and the screens are up following another single-lap run. This looks like the run plan McLaren racing director Eric Boullier wanted to get through in Abu Dhabi.
"If things go well expect some three lap runs from the McLaren later."
BEN ANDERSON: "The Honda engine note sounds cleaner than it did in Abu Dhabi but it's still unrefined. It sounds a bit deeper and throatier than the others at present."
And with that, Alonso returns to the pits again.
And with that, Alonso returns to the pits again.
Outlap number three for Alonso in the McLaren-Honda breaks the silence at Jerez.
Breaking news
Headlines from today so far:
* Rosberg sets commanding early pace in new Mercedes
* Alonso has his first lap in the McLaren-Honda
* Vettel completes his first proper laps as a Ferrari driver
* No movement from Williams and Lotus yet
* A quick spin by Ericsson causes only red flag so far
* Rosberg sets commanding early pace in new Mercedes
* Alonso has his first lap in the McLaren-Honda
* Vettel completes his first proper laps as a Ferrari driver
* No movement from Williams and Lotus yet
* A quick spin by Ericsson causes only red flag so far
That short run is over for Sainz, who seemed to be making his getaways smoother with each attempt from the end of the pitlane.
Plenty more practice starts for Sainz, who is passing through the pits every time during this 'run'.
Bottas has told BEN ANDERSON that he expected all of the noses to look like the Williams solution this year, but his eye suggests that only Red Bull has gone down that route.
The Finn is pleased to see some variety on the grid, and with that he heads into the garage as the doors open and Williams appears to be preparing to head out for the first time.
The Finn is pleased to see some variety on the grid, and with that he heads into the garage as the doors open and Williams appears to be preparing to head out for the first time.
Rookie Sainz rejoins with another practice start. Toro Rosso stressed yesterday that getting its young driver line-up familiar with the requirements of F1 is just as important as working on car development during these pre-season tests.
Now that the McLaren has twice made it back to the pits under its own (Honda) power, BEN ANDERSON notes that it marks a step forward from that troublesome debut test in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year.
Breaking news
The McLaren is back in the pits for more checks, and BEN ANDERSON has an update from Williams:
"Just been chatting to Valtteri Bottas on the pitwall. Williams was delayed by some new car double checks yesterday. The team hopes to be out in around 15 minutes."
"Just been chatting to Valtteri Bottas on the pitwall. Williams was delayed by some new car double checks yesterday. The team hopes to be out in around 15 minutes."
Fernando Alonso, McLaren
Alonso re-appears in the McLaren for a second lap.
Ericsson improves to a 1m24.804s in the Sauber, while Ricciardo is back in the pits with 22 laps to his name for the day.
Ricciardo gets back into the 1m25s as Rosberg pits in the Mercedes.
As Ericsson takes the Sauber out to join Rosberg (doing high 1m25s) and Ricciardo (who has now dropped into the 1m26s and is less consistent), BEN ANDERSON has taken a wander up to the Williams garage:
"Nothing much to see at Williams - screens are up and garage doors remain closed."
"Nothing much to see at Williams - screens are up and garage doors remain closed."
BEN ANDERSON: "It's amazing how smooth the Mercedes engine note sounds one year on from the debut of the V6 turbos. They sounded so rough and unrefined this time last year."
Here's a lap count after nearly two hours of running:
Rosberg (Mercedes) 26
Ricciardo (Red Bull) 16
Ericsson (Sauber) 15
Sainz (Toro Rosso) 14
Vettel (Ferrari) 9
Alonso (McLaren) 1
No sign of the Williams or the Lotus yet today, although the former was at least rolled out into the pits for some photographs first thing.
Rosberg (Mercedes) 26
Ricciardo (Red Bull) 16
Ericsson (Sauber) 15
Sainz (Toro Rosso) 14
Vettel (Ferrari) 9
Alonso (McLaren) 1
No sign of the Williams or the Lotus yet today, although the former was at least rolled out into the pits for some photographs first thing.
As a rough indication of how much progress has been made with these new generation of F1 cars and power units, Nico Rosberg's fastest time this morning is four seconds faster than the quickest overall on day one at Jerez last year.
BEN ANDERSON has spotted a "relaxed-looking" Ron Dennis wandering up the pitlane from the McLaren garage following that first lap for the Honda-powered MP4-30.
Stopwatch
Ricciardo dips into the 1m24s for the first time today, closing the gap on the Mercedes to 1.5s.
Rosberg and Ricciardo are both lapping in the mid-1m25s at the moment.
BEN ANDERSON reports from the pits that cooling is the order of the day at Toro Rosso now Sainz is back in the garage. "Fans are on full blast," he says.
Rosberg - already with a 10-lap run under his belt this morning - heads back out, and Ricciardo joins him in a Red Bull that does not sound happy on its pit limiter at all.
Fernando Alonso
The McLaren is back in the pits. EDD STRAW reports that it looked and sounded "very stuttery" both in the pits and out on track as Alonso logged that first installation lap of the test.
Alonso coasts through the first sector, heading out of our sight as he swoops right through Turn 5 and onto the backstraight.
We have our first sighting of the McLaren-Honda. Alonso has left the pits.
Stopwatch
The Sauber deposes Vettel for third now as Ericsson moves into the 1m25s.
Stopwatch
Ericsson moves above Sainz for fourth with a 1m26.080s.
The revving Toro Rosso at the end of the pits certainly caused some excitement in the media centre - presumably from people who thought it was the McLaren-Honda, which is sat directly underneath us in its garage at the moment.
EDD STRAW reports from the pits that Sainz carried out a practice start to kick off this run.
Ericsson improves to a 1m26.589s, but the Sauber is still fifth out of the five cars to have set a time. Sainz heads out to join him on track, to the excitement of the growing Spanish crowd.
Ricciardo didn't stay out for long, while Ericsson comes through to set a 1m28.6s.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Edd Straw, Glenn Freeman, Ben Anderson, Andrew van Leeuwen, Jonathan Noble, Jamie Klein
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