Jerez first 2015 test Test day one

BEN ANDERSON: "There will be much interest in Fernando Alonso's debut with McLaren-Honda today.

"Honda's first V6 turbo hybrid engine suffered a troubled first test in Abu Dhabi in November, as the team chased a persistent electrical problem, so it will be interesting to see if they've made progress.

"McLaren says it is still working on the MP4-30 so won't take to the track immediately."

JONATHAN NOBLE: "When the Red Bull returned to the garage the team were keeping it closely under wraps - hiding it behind screens as soon as it pulled up.

"Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen is currently down here outside the Red Bull garage taking a look at the RB11 too."

All four back in the pits after installation laps. Quiet descends on the Jerez pit.

Testing

EDD STRAW captures the first overtake of the year.

Rosberg gets to the end of the pitlane first but Vettel drives past him while the Merc is parked and preparing to launch.

Rosberg, Vettel, Ricciardo and Ericsson are the first to fire up their engines and head for the pit exit. Testing is under way at Jerez.

It was basically still dark at Jerez when Mercedes took the covers off of its F1 W06 in the pitlane around 40 minutes ago, but the sun is now creeping up from behind Turn 5.

Just a couple more minutes before the circuit opens - we've sent JONATHAN NOBLE and EDD STRAW down to the pits to keep an eye on what's going on.

One of the main things they'll be looking out for is a first glimpse of the Red Bull RB11 - the only car we've not seen anything of (in real or 'rendered' form) so far.

AUTOSPORT has a four-person team here at Jerez: Jonathan Noble, Ben Anderson, Glenn Freeman and Edd Straw.

EDD STRAW: "Last year, the opening morning of the test was extraordinary, with the pitlane still full of people from the early-morning rollouts even when the track was open.

"Only 93 laps, many of them stuttering, were run that day and the idea that the cars would be ready to contest a grand prix a month-and-a-half later seemed ridiculous. It's testament to the effectiveness of even the smaller teams that everyone was ready for the Australian GP."

There's half an hour until the track opens here in Spain. It's clear and sunny (although the sun is still very low!), and the air temperature is a chilly 3.4C. Track temp is even lower at 2.8C.

The fastest time from the opening day of testing here in 2014 was a 1m27.104s, set by Kimi Raikkonen. It will be interesting to see how much quicker the pace is today after what was a very stuttering start last year.

Here's who is scheduled to drive on the first day of the test. Obviously, this is dependent on each of the cars being ready to run.

Mercedes – Nico Rosberg
Red Bull – Daniel Ricciardo
Williams – Valtteri Bottas
Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel
McLaren – Fernando Alonso
Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz Jr
Lotus – Pastor Maldonado
Sauber – Marcus Ericsson

Good morning and welcome to the first morning of Formula 1 pre-season testing for 2015 from Jerez in Spain.

AUTOSPORT Live will be bringing you as-it-happens coverage and analysis from all three winter F1 tests, starting from today to Wednesday at Jerez and followed by two further sessions at Barcelona from February 19-22 and February 26-March 1.