In-Season Test 1 - (Barcelona) Day 2 / Re-Cap & Times

IN-SEASON TEST 1 / DAY 2 / RE-CAP & TIMES

Max Verstappen celebrated his first ever grand prix win by topping the timing sheets in the second day of in-season testing at Barcelona. The Red Bull newbie set more than 100 laps with the B-spec power unit, but had already set the fastest time of the day in the morning session.

    On both Tuesday and Wednesday, Renault have been testing the B-spec power unit, looking to see what the upgrade can do ahead of a possible introduction in Monaco. Judging by Versappen’s times, the implementation could cause a few worried thoughts in the Ferrari camp, with Verstappen’s Wednesday time just 0.047 seconds off of Vettel’s best time from Tuesday

    Behind Verstappen was another young face, with Stoffel Vandoorne ending the second day of testing just 0.739 seconds behind the teenager. Vandoorne set the time on the supersoft tyre, with McLaren focusing on tyre preparation during the morning session. The test driver also commented on the improved down force of the McLaren car, which he drove in Bahrain after Fernando Alonso’s collision in Australia.

    Mercedes made a late change in their driver line-up, with Manor driver Pascal Wehrlein taking the Mercedes for a spin in the second day of testing. The German set the third fastest time of the day, 0.878 seconds slower than Vandoorne. The switch may be more than meets the eye to the Mercedes fans/conspiracy theorists, as the switch means Lewis Hamilton most likely will not test for the team this season.

    It was a used ultrasoft tyre that Esteban Gutierrez used to set his fastest time, which put him fourth quickest, 0.128 seconds ahead of Antonio Fuoco, who was in the Ferrari car. The Italian was using medium tyres for most of the day, setting his fastest time late on the day when he switched to the soft compound.

    After rejoining the team before the Spanish grand prix, Russian Daniil Kvyat would have wanted as much time in the possible to get used to the Toro Rosso. Kvyat set over a hundred laps, but his day was interrupted when he brought out the red flags after stopping late in the afternoon.

    Alfonso Celis Junior in the Force India and Kevin Magnussen in the Renault were seventh and eighth on the timing sheet. After recent complaints about the Renault, Magnussen noted the improved drivability of the car, which is also carrying the B-spec power unit. The Dane said he would be happy to run it in Monaco, if the team believes it is ready.

    Felipe Massa and Jordan King rounded off the timings, with Massa running the experimental double wing in the afternoon. The wing wouldn’t be race legal, but allows the team to analyse aero balance.

 TIMES:

 1. Max Verstappen - 1:23.267 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Netherlands
2. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:24.006 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
3. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:24.145 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany
4. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:24.592 / Haas-Ferrari / Mexico
5. Antonio Fuoco - 1:24.720 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Italy
6. Daniil Kvyat - 1:24.737 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari /Russia
7. Alfonso Celis - 1:25.016 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
8. Kevin Magnussen - 1:25.133 / Renault-Renault / Denmark
9. Felipe Massa - 1:27.167 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
10. Jordan King - 1:27.615 / Manor-Mercedes / Great Britain

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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