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By: Geoff Creighton

Summary

Vettel ends day one on top, Sainz gets within 0.4s
Four drivers complete 100+ laps
Hamilton in for Bottas at Mercedes, Ricciardo gets first proper laps for Renault
Williams set to miss Tuesday's running
Racing Point makes track debut
Alfa Romeo shows off 2019 colours
Status: Stopped
Driver, Team, Time, Tyre
Bottas,Mercedes,1m20.127s,C2
Vettel,Ferrari,1m18.161s,C3
Verstappen,Red Bull,1m19.426s,C3
Hulkenberg,Renault,1m20.980s,C2
Grosjean,Haas,1m19.159s,C3
Sainz,McLaren,1m18.558s,C4
Perez,Racing Point,1m19.944s,C3
Raikkonen,Alfa Romeo,1m19.462s,C3
Kvyat,Toro Rosso,1m19.464s,C4
Hamilton,Mercedes,1m20.135s,C2
Ricciardo,Renault,1m20.983s,C2
That ends a fantastic first day of F1 testing in Barcelona. It had a bit of everything, didn't it?

Keep an eye on Autosport's website through the remainder of the evening for news, features and analysis. Don't forget to follow our social media and YouTube channels for more exclusive content.

After that exceptional plug, check out the report from the afternoon session, and meet us back here bright and early tomorrow for round two. You don't want to miss it.
F1 testing: Morning time keeps Ferrari's Vettel on top on first day
Here's how things finished up on day one:
1 Vettel (Ferrari), 1m18.161s (169 laps)2 Sainz (McLaren), 1m18.558s (119)3 Grosjean (Haas), 1m19.159s (65)4 Verstappen (Red Bull), 1m19.426s (128)5 Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), 1m19.462s (114)6 Kvyat (Toro Rosso), 1m19.464s (77)7 Perez (Racing Point), 1m19.944s (30)8 Bottas (Mercedes), 1m20.127s (69)9 Hamilton (Mercedes, 1m20.135s (81)10 Hulkenberg (Renault), 1m20.980s (65)11 Ricciardo (Renault), 1m20.983s (44)
Red flags are quite common at the end of test days - usually because the teams will try to see how far they can push the cars on fuel before they run out. We're not saying that's what Alfa Romeo did, of course...
Circuit CCTV cameras are picking up a recovery mission taking place on the approach to the first corner, where it looks like Raikkonen's Alfa has just come to a stop.
Red flag with just a minute to go on day one of F1 testing.
Kvyat is back out on the red C4 tyres, and he finds a couple of tenths to improve to a 1m19.464s.
Grosjean speeds up to a 1m20.5s, but that's still some margin off the pace he was showing earlier on the harder C3 compound.
Seven of the nine teams running today are on track as we enter the final five minutes. Just Racing Point and Renault in the garages.
Grosjean follows up a 1m29s with a 1m27s, so we're starting to think he isn't trying to reclaim second place after all.
Hamilton tours past the pits on a slow-speed run, just ahead of Grosjean, who is yet to show us what the C4-tyres run is all about.
Grosjean is now out on a set of the red C4 tyres. A bid to reclaim second from Sainz, who used that same compound to outpace the Haas not long ago?
Sainz is passing through the pits every lap at the moment, while Vettel has come in after another long run with his lap tally up to 166.
Vettel, Verstappen and Raikkonen are still circulating, but they are all in the high 1m22s or slower.
Sainz starts another hot lap with a new fastest first sector, but the lap falls away (by half a second in the middle sector and eight tenths in the third) and he ends up crossing the line with a 1m19.9s.
Sainz retakes second from Grosjean with a 1m18.558s to get within half a second of Vettel. Until a few minutes ago, we didn't even have anyone within one second of the Ferrari. But Sainz has used a softer tyre than Vettel and Grosjean to set that time that puts him between them in the order.
Yep, looks like Sainz is going for a time - new fastest first sector, and a personal best middle sector...
No headline times, but a good amount of running for Mercedes. Hamilton (pictured) and Bottas have complete 145 laps between them

No headline times, but a good amount of running for Mercedes. Hamilton (pictured) and Bottas have complete 145 laps between them

We'll keep an eye on Sainz, he's on the C4 tyres so could be going for a time. Grosjean returns to the pits after doing just that on the C3s just now and taking second from the Spaniard.
Verstappen puts in a 1m19.6s, just two tenths down on his best for the day.
Sainz has gone out, so now our top five runners from today so far are all on track.
Vettel isn't troubling the timing screens, but he has just clocked his 160th lap of the day. A decent opening day tally for Ferrari, and the speed the car showed earlier is a tidy bonus.
Grosjean's backed off for a lap and now he's having another go, having got just within one second of Vettel's best.
We're glad Vettel isn't improving, because we can't quite tell which tyres he's running. It looks like they could be the unmarked C3 developmental set, but his last lap was a 1m23s anyway so he's not troubling his 1m18.1 from before lunch.
Grosjean retakes second behind Vettel, with a 1m19.159s on C3 (yellow) tyres.
Raikkonen heads out as well.
And here’s a final in-session lap count for today:

Vettel - 156
Verstappen - 112
Sainz - 107
Raikkonen - 100
Hamilton - 76
Kvyat - 73
Bottas - 69
Hulkenberg - 65
Grosjean - 54
Ricciardo - 44
Perez - 30
Grosjean and Verstappen have headed out to give Vettel some company in the final half an hour of running. The media centre doesn't have many photographers in it right now, as they've all headed out to get "the light" now the sun is dropping.
Here's one final look at the times before the end of the session:

1 Vettel (Ferrari) 1m18.161s
2 Sainz (McLaren) 1m19.318s
2 Grosjean (Haas) 1m19.320s
4 Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m19.426s
5 Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1m19.462s
6 Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m19.635s
7 Perez (Force India) 1m19.944s
8 Bottas (Mercedes) 1m20.127s
9 Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m20.135s
10 Hulkenberg (Renault) 1m20.980s
11 Ricciardo (Renault) 1m20.983s
Vettel performs a drivethrough in the pitlane - hopefully not practicing future penalties - and is back out on track.
Our table-topper Vettel is back out on track with half an hour's action remaining in Barcelona, with the sun disappearing over the main grandstand.

Hamilton is the only other driver on track, regularly above the 1m24s on his C2 tyres.
 
Hamilton and Kvyat are the only cars left on track now. Kvyat hasn't managed to move back in and pass Hamilton.

Just under 33 minutes remain in the session.
An excellent bit of accidental race sim from Mercedes as Hamilton catches and passes Kvyat's Toro Rosso on the main straight. Good work boys, overtakes for the win. Or FTW as the kids say...
Verstappen pits from a consistent run of laps, again on his apparently favoured C3s.
Sainz's lap on the C4 Pirellis is still 1.157s slower than Vettel's benchmark on the harder C3 tyres.
After spending all afternoon on the C2, Sainz has taken the C4 that Kvyat is running and jumps to second on the timing screens.

The Spaniard managed a 1m19.318s to jump up the order.
Kvyat hasn't been under a 1m25s in the last five laps on these softish C4 tyres. Those are the softest that have been used today.
Sainz joins Raikkonen as the newcomers on track. Already partying are Verstappen, Hamilton and Kvyat.
While the laps on track are unappealing, Raikkonen has joined the fray to (hopefully) right that wrong.

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