In-Season Test #1 - Day #2 - Re-Cap & Times

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

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas topped the second day of testing in Bahrain.

    The Finn put in 143 laps in an effort to better understand the tyres, something the team could have done with before last weekend’s race. Mercedes were also testing new aero pieces to combat Ferrari’s boost in performance. Bottas did briefly stop on track early in the afternoon with a mechanical problem, but managed to get the Mercedes going again.

    Sebastian Vettel was behind the wheel for Ferrari, but the German didn’t get half as many laps as Bottas. The team found a hydraulic leak whilst changing the setting’s, forcing Vettel to remain in the pits for the majority of the morning session. A data problem in the afternoon did briefly disturb 
Ferrari’s running, but Vettel eventually managed 64 laps and the second best time.

    One team that didn’t face any problems today was McLaren. After a disastrous weekend in Bahrain and more problems yesterday, it was smooth running for Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian completed 81 laps – more laps than a race distance – and set the fourth fastest time overall, just two tenths of a second slower than Sainz in third.

    Haas spent their day evaluating new brakes. The problem has plagued the team since the later part of last season, and they’re keen to keep up the pace they’ve shown. Kevin Magnussen set the fifth fastest time, ahead of Daniil Kvyat, who ran the Toro Rosso in the morning session.

    Williams, Renault, and Red Bull all ran test drivers. Williams’ Gary Paffett, who returned to the track for the first time since 2013, set the eighth fastest time ahead of Renault’s Sergey Sirotkin and Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly.

    Pascal Wehrlein made up for lost time by getting into his Sauber and completing over 90 laps throughout the day, setting the 11th fastest time ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez.

TIMES:

1. Valtteri Bottas - 1:31.280 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / 143 Laps

2. Sebastian Vettel - 1:31.574 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Italy / 64 Laps

3. Carlos Sainz (PM) – 1:31.884 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain / 68 Laps

4. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:32.108 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium / 81 Laps

5. Kevin Magnussen - 1:32.120 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / 88 Laps

6. Esteban Ocon (AM) - 1:32.142 / Force India-Mercedes / France / 60 Laps

7. Daniil Kvyat (AM) – 1:32.213 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia / 61 Laps

8. Gary Paffett - 1:32.253 / Williams-Mercedes / Great Britain / 126 Laps 

9. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:32.287 / Renault-Renault / Russia  / 90 Laps

10. Pierre Gasly - 1:32.568 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / France / 65 Laps

11. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:34.462 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany / 91 Laps

12. Sergio Perez (PM) – 1:35.015 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / 70 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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In-Season Test #1 - Day #2 - Line-Up

IN-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #2 - LINE-UP

Mercedes-Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari-Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull-TAG-Heuer: Pierre Gasly

Williams-Mercedes: Gary Paffett

Renault-Renault: Sergey Sirotkin

McLaren-Honda: Stoffel Vandoorne

Toro Rosso-Renault: Daniil Kvyat (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

Force India-Mercedes: Esteban Ocon (AM) / Sergio Perez (PM)*

Sauber-Ferrari: Pascal Wehrlein

Haas-Ferrari: Kevin Magnussen 

* - Notes drivers are sharing testing duties

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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In-Season Test #1 - Day #1 - Re-Cap & Times

IN-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The first in-season test got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit and unfortunately, there were more problems for McLaren-Honda. Oliver Turvey, who the team chose to put in the car for the first day, only got 17 laps in during the session due to multiple mechanical issues. The team had to change the power unit after there was a water leak in the ERS component. Turvey was still able to set a time towards the end of the day; a 1:35.011

    The Mercedes also encountered a problem, although minor, when Lewis Hamilton stopped on track, causing the first red flag of the session. Despite this, Hamilton still ended the day on top with a 1:31.358.  The second red flag was due to Gelael stopping on track in the Toro Rosso. The Formula 2 driver set the 8th quickest time of the day with a 1:33.885.

    Ferrari chose rookie Antonio Giovinazzi to do the young driver testing, while Sebastian Vettel drove another Ferrari to test out Pirelli's unmarked 2018 tyres. Sebastian Vettel also ran a few hours longer than everyone else because of technical issues.

    Sauber's Marcus Ericsson completed the most laps of the day with a total of 106. His quickest time was a 1:34.550, putting him in 11th.

    Williams opted to put but Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa in the car for day 1, with Canadian rookie, Stroll running in the AM session and Felipe Massa taking over in the afternoon. Massa finished in 5th with a 1:33.509 and Stroll 7th with a 1:33.729. Together they completed 91 laps in the Mercedes-powered car.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:31.358 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / 97 Laps

2. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:31.984 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Italy / 93 Laps

3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:32.349 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia / 45 Laps

4. Romain Grosjean - 1:32.452 / Haas-Ferrari / France / 87 Laps

5. Felipe Massa (PM) - 1:32.509 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / 56 Laps 

6. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:33.624 / Renault-Renault / Germany / 74 Laps

7. Lance Stroll (AM) - 1:33.729 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada / 35 Laps

8. Sean Gelael - 1:33.885 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Indonesia / 78 Laps

9. Sebastian Vettel - 1:33.894 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / 89 Laps (TT)

10. Alfonso Celis Jr. - 1:33.939 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / 71 Laps

11. Marcus Ericsson - 1:34.550 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / 106 Laps

12. Oliver Turvey - 1:35.011 / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain / 17 Laps

(TT) - Sebastian Vettel drove to conduct a test for Pirelli's unmarked 2018 tyres and was not part of the regular F1 Test.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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In-Season Test #1 - Day #1 - Line-Up

IN-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #1 - LINE-UP

Mercedes-Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari-Ferrari: Antonio Giovinazzi / Sebastian Vettel (T)

Red Bull-TAG-Heuer: Daniel Ricciardo

Williams-Mercedes: Lance Stroll (AM) / Felipe Massa (PM)*

Renault-Renault: Nico Hulkenberg

McLaren-Honda: Oliver Turvey

Toro Rosso-Renault: Sean Gelael

Force India-Mercedes: Alfonso Celis Jr.

Sauber-Ferrari: Marcus Ericsson

Haas-Ferrari: Romain Grosjean

* - Notes drivers are sharing testing duties
(T) - Vettel running for Pirelli test only

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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