In-Season Test #2 - Day #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

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

Testing Location: Hungaroring - Mogyorod, Hungary

    George Russell was the quickest of the testing-group on day 2 at the Hungaroring. Russell, who is leading the FIA Formula 2 championship, finished the day in 1st with a 1:15.575. The young British driver also collected 116 laps for the Mercedes AMG F1 team.

    Antonio Giovinazzi, who took the Ferrari to the top on day 1, switched over to Sauber for day 2. The Italian finished in 4th with a 1:17.558 and 120 laps. Giovinazzi has been linked to a full-time Sauber seat in 2019, but nothing has been made official just yet.

    Force India chose to run their other test driver after Latifi drove on the previous day. This time around it was Nikita Mazepin, who currently competes in GP3. Mazepin stopped on track twice during the session with mechanical issues, resulting in Red Flags both times. Despite this, Mazepin finished in 5th with a 1:17.748. He also completed 51 laps.

    Toro Rosso ran two cars again as they did on Tuesday. Sean Gelael was in the main car and finished in 9th with a 1:19.046, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley who both drove the other car in order to complete testing for Pirelli. 

    British driver, Jake Dennis, who currently competes in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, was in the Red Bull for the day, taking over from Daniel Ricciardo who drove the previous day. Dennis, 23, finished up in 3rd for the Austrian team. His final time was a 1:17.012. He also racked up a whopping 131 laps, the same amount as Raikkonen, who was behind the wheel of the Ferrari.

    Lando Norris was once again in the McLaren, while Williams opted to run former F1 driver, Robert Kubica. Kubica was 6th at the end of the session, putting in a 1:18.451 and completed 103 laps.

    Formula 2 RUSSIAN TIME driver, Artem Markelov, ran for Renault. He finished in 8th with a 1:18.496 and racked up 108 laps.

TIMES:

1. George Russell - 1:15.575 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / 116 Laps

2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:15.649 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / 131 Laps

3. Jake Dennis - 1:17.012 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Great Britain / 131 Laps

4. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:17.558 / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy / 120 Laps

5. Nikita Mazepin - 1:17.748 / Force India-Mercedes / Russia / 51 Laps

6. Robert Kubica - 1:18.451 / Williams-Mercedes / Poland / 103 Laps

7. Lando Norris - 1:18.472 / McLaren-Renault / Great Britain / 73 Laps

8. Artem Markelov - 1:18.496 / Renault-Renault / Russia / 108 Laps

9. Sean Gelael - 1:19.046 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / Indonesia / 122 Laps

10. Pierre Gasly - 1:19.790 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France / 75 Laps*

11. Brendon Hartley - 1:20.221 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand / 67 Laps*

* - Notes Gasly and Hartley were testing for Pirelli's 2019 programme

NOTE: Haas has chosen not to participate in this test

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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In-Season Test #1 - Day #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

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

Test Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Montmelo, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Valtteri Bottas was quickest on the second and final day of the first in-season test of the year.

    The Mercedes driver set a fastest time of 1:16.904 and completed a total of 139 laps.

    Close behind was Antonio Giovinazzi, who ran for Ferrari. He had run for Sauber the previous day. Giovinazzi Racked up 148 laps and had a quickest time of 1:16.972.

    There were more young drivers running the field as McLaren Chose Lando Norris to run the main car for the session, while Vandoorne ran in the second car to complete more testing for Pirelli's 2019 programme.

    Lando Norris was 3rd on the time sheets, with a 1:18.039 and completed a total of 80 laps while Vandoorne finished 10th with a 1:19.914.

    Force India, who ran two cars as well, much like the previous day, Chose Nicholas Latifi for the Pirelli testing and Nakita Mazepin to run in the main car. Mazepin finished the session in 5th with a 1:18.344 while Latifi was in 13th with the slowest time of a 1:21.412.

    Toro Rosso chose two drivers after limited running on day one due to a chassis issue. Sean Gelael returned to the car for the AM Portion and finished 12th. Gasly then stepped in for the afternoon and got into 9th with a 1:19.410.

    Jack Aitken, who is currently racing in Formula 2 with the ART Grand Prix team, got to test for Renault and set some impressive times. The young British driver finished in 6th and did 120 laps. His best time was a 1:18.942, placing him just ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Sauber.

TIMES:

1. Valtteri Bottas - 1:16.904 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / 139 Laps
2. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:16.972 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Italy / 148 Laps
3. Lando Norris - 1:18.039 / McLaren-Renault / Great Britain / 80 Laps
4. Kevin Magnussen - 1:18.274 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / 75 Laps
5. Nikita Mazepin - 1:18.344 / Force India-Mercedes / Russia / 112 Laps
6. Jack Aitken - 1:18.942 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain / 120 Laps
7. Charles Leclerc - 1:18.993 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco / 139 Laps
8. Robert Kubica - 1:19.253 / Williams-Mercedes / Poland / 123 Laps
9. Pierre Gasly (PM) - 1:19.410 / Scuderia Toro Tosso-Honda / France / 39 Laps
10. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:19.914 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium / 96 Laps*
11. Jake Dennis - 1:20.440 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Great Britain / 75 Laps
12. Sean Gelael (AM) - 1:20.763 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / Indonesia / 83 Laps
13. Nicholas Latifi - 1:21.412 / Force India-Mercedes / Canada / 121 Laps*

* - Notes drivers were testing for Pirelli's 2019 programme

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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

Test Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Montmelo, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Max Verstappen was fastest on the first day of the first in-season test of 2018. The Dutch driver finished on top with a 1:17.528 and racked up 148 laps for the Austrian team.

    Close behind in the times was Carlos Sainz with a 1:17.562. Sainz, who is being tipped to join Red Bull next year, completed 119 laps in the Renault.

    Toro Rosso had limited running after needing to change their power unit because of a problem with their chassis. Sean Gelael was running for them and finished the session in 12th with a 1:21.935 and completed a total of 50 laps.

    Both Force India and McLaren ran two cars during the session. The second cars were used to test for Pirelli's 2019 programme. McLaren also ran 3 drivers in total with 2 drivers doing the tyre resting duties.

    McLaren's main car was driven by Stoffel Vandoorne, who finished in 7th with a 1:18.981. The second car saw youngster Lando Norris drive in the AM while Oliver Turvey, who is currently competing in Formula E, took over for the PM session. Norris finished in 10th and Turvey 13th. Between the two of them, they completed a total of 134 laps.

    Force India chose current F2 driver George Russell for the tyre testing duties, while Nicholas Latifi ran in the main car. Latifi finished up in 5th with a 1:18.530 and 107 laps while Russell finished further down in 11th with a 1:21.478 and 123 laps.

    Former Formula 2 driver, Oliver Rowland, ran for Williams and finished 9th in the session, just behind Antonio Giovinazzi, who was running for Sauber. Giovinazzi set a fastest time of 1:19.693 while Rowland did a 1:20.009.

TIMES:

1. Max Verstappen - 1:17.528 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / 148 Laps

2. Carlos Sainz - 1:17.562 / Renault-Renault / Spain / 119 Laps

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:17.659 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / 136 Laps

4. Romain Grosjean - 1:18.449 / Haas-Ferrari / France / 129 Laps

5. Nicholas Latifi - 1:18.530 / Force India-Mercedes / Canada / 107 Laps

6. Lewis Hamilton - 1:18.543 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / 151 Laps

7. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:18.981 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium / 85 Laps

8. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:19.693 / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy / 135 Laps

9. Oliver Rowland - 1:20.009 / Williams-Mercedes / Great Britain / 121 Laps

10. Lando Norris (AM) - 1:20.997 / McLaren-Renault / Great Britain / 76 Laps*

11. George Russell - 1:21.478 / Force India-Mercedes / Great Britain / 123 Laps*

12. Sean Gelael - 1:21.935 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / Indonesia / 50 Laps

13. Oliver Turvey (PM) - 1:23.070 / McLaren-Renault / Great Britain / 58 Laps*

* - Notes drivers were testing for Pirelli's 2019 programme

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

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

    Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo topped the times in the first day of preseason testing ahead of the 2018 Formula 1 championship.

    Ricciardo set his fastest time of the day – a 1m20.179s – in the morning session, with cooler conditions limiting running after the lunch break.

    He managed a total of 105 laps over the two sessions, 12 laps more than the Honda powered Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley who was second in the lap chart order.

    Valtteri Bottas was second quickest, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.

    Honda claimed a small victory over previous partner McLaren. While Hartley spent the morning adding to his lap count, Fernando Alonso brought out the first red flag of the season.

    The right rear wheel of his McLaren had come off on just his sixth lap of the day, sending him into the gravel. A wheel nut problem was blamed for the incident and Alonso spent most of the morning in the pits.

    He eventually managed to put in a competitive lap time, ending the day seventh fastest and 0.02s faster than Hartley, but only managed 51 laps compared to the Honda’s 93.

    As a point of reference, the McLaren-Honda managed just over 200 laps over the course of the first preseason test of 2017.

    The second and final red flag of the day was brought out by Nikita Mazepin in the Force India. Mazepin span halfway through the morning session, beaching the VJM11 in the gravel at turn 4.

    It signaled the end of Mazepin’s day. The Force India was brought back to the pits but a brake cooling problem kept it there for longer than expected.

    With track temperature dropping by nearly 10 degrees over the lunch break, Force India opted not to send the car back out once the issue was resolved.

    Mazepin finished the day 12th fastest, five seconds off the pace.

   Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jnr was the fastest of those only running in the afternoon. He managed just 26 laps, a third of his team-mate’s total, and was 1.3s slower than Hulkenberg, but still managed fifth fastest.

    Lewis Hamilton, taking over from Bottas, was sixth quickest ahead of Alonso and Hartley.

    Sergey Sirotkin, the only rookie running in the first day of testing, took over from Lance Stroll for the afternoon session. He completed nearly 30 laps but didn’t set a competitive lap time in his first session as an F1 driver.

    Team-mate Stroll managed ninth fastest, ahead of Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson.

TIMES:

1. Daniel Ricciardo – 1:20.179 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 105 Laps
2. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:20.349 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 58 Laps
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:20.506 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 80 Laps
4. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - 1:20.547 / Renault-Renault / 73 Laps
5. Carlos Sainz (PM) - 1:22.168 / Renault-Renault / 26 Laps
6. Lewis Hamilton (PM) – 1:22.327 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 25 Laps
7. Fernando Alonso – 1:22.354 / McLaren-Renault / 51 Laps
8. Brendon Hartley – 1:22.371/ Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 93 Laps
9. Lance Stroll (AM) – 1:22.452 / Williams-Mercedes / 46 Laps
10. Romain Grosjean - 1:22.578 / Haas-Ferrari / 55 Laps
11. Marcus Ericsson - 1:23.408 / Sauber-Ferrari / 63 Laps
12. Nikita Mazepin - 1:25.628 / Force India-Mercedes / 22 Laps
13. Sergey Sirotkin (PM) – 1:44.148 / Williams-Mercedes / 28 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #1 - Re-Cap & Times

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

    Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton topped the timing screens on the first day of running in 2017, whilst Red Bull and McLaren suffered technical problems.

    Hamilton took over from new teammate Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session, the Mercedes sporting a new fin with a slot that is understood to be a exit duct for hot air.

    The Brit ran 73 laps, just a few less than Bottas had during the morning session, to set a time of 1:21.765 on the new soft tyres.

    Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari also looked to be happy, completing lap after lap on the Barcelona track and finishing the day second on the timings with over a hundred laps under his belt.

    Whilst it’s not possible to read too much into the times set today, with different teams running different programmes to get to grips with their new cars, we can learn some things from today’s test.

    This was the first time we got to see the new shark fins in action. It was noted that the aero device on the Williams, and other teams, were unstable and wobbled. This could be a problem if they’re not considered a “stable aerodynamic device”, which would be illegal and inefficient.

    Shark fins weren’t the only thing causing problems.

    McLaren’s Fernando Alonso completed an entire lap in the morning session before having to return to the garage due to an oil system issue. The Spaniard managed to get back onto the track in the afternoon, only to come back into the pits at a crawling pace a few minutes later. He did eventually manage to come back out, setting nearly 30 laps in total to set the 10th fastest time of the day.

    Red Bull also battled technical issues. Daniel Ricciardo brought out the first red flag of 2017 when he stopped on track due to sensor issues. In the afternoon session, battery issues halted the team’s running. Ricciardo managed to complete 50 laps to set to fifth fastest time.

TIMES/LAPS

1. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:21.765 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 73 Laps
2. Sebastian Vettel – 1:21.878 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 127 Laps
3. Felipe Massa - 1:22.076 / Williams-Mercedes / 103 Laps
4. Kevin Magnussen - 1:22.894 / Haas-Ferrari / 50 Laps
5. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:22.926 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / 48 Laps
6. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:23.169 - Mercedes-Mercedes / 79 Laps
7. Sergio Perez - 1:23.709 / Force India-Mercedes / 39 Laps
8. Carlos Sainz - 1:24.494 / Toro Rosso-Renault / 51 Laps
9. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:24.784 / Renault-Renault / 57 Laps
10. Fernando Alonso – 1:24.852 / McLaren-Honda / 29 Laps
11. Marcus Ericsson – 1:26.841 / Sauber-Ferrari / 72 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Winter Testing Day 4 - Re-Cap & Times / Barcelona

Day 4 of testing saw Ferrari on top at the end of the session with Raikkonen behind the wheel of the SF16-H. Kvyat followed close behind in the Red Bull and Alfono Celis in third, driving the Force India.

    Mercedes debuted a new nose that morning and opted to run both drivers again with Hamilton running in the AM session and Rosberg in the PM session. Both finished in the top 10 but not in the top 3, which despite it only being early in the pre-season, might spell trouble.

    McLaren suffered a troublesome day due to a coolant leak. Alonso went out for a few installation laps but never set a time as the team was unable to send him back out for the rest of the day.

    Rio Haryanto caused a Red Flag when he crashed near turn 5, as he did the previous day. He was OK but did not come back out for the rest of the session. The other Red Flag was caused when Kevin Magnussen stopped on track in the last hour.

    Here are the times from the session.

TIMES/LAPS

1. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:23.477 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 78 Laps
2. Daniil Kvyat - 1:24.293 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / 95 Laps
3. Alfonso Celis - 1:24.840 / Force India-Mercedes / 75 Laps
4. Kevin Magnussen - 1:25.263 / Renault-Renault / 153 Laps
5. Max Verstappen - 1:25.393 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari / 110 Laps
6. Felipe Nasr* - 1:26.053 / Sauber-Ferrari / 121 Laps
7. Nico Rosberg (AM) - 1:26.187 - Mercedes-Mercedes / 86 Laps
8. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:26.295 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 99 Laps
9. Felipe Massa - 1:26.463 / Williams-Mercedes / 54 Laps
10. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:27.802 / Haas-Ferrari / 89 Laps
11. Rio Haryanto - 1:28.266 / Manor-Mercedes / 51 Laps
12. Fernando Alonso - NO TIME SET / McLaren-Honda / 3 Laps

* - Notes running 2015 car
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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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Young Drivers Testing Re-Cap

Day 1 was a good day for Kevin Magnussen who set fasest time in the McLaren, topping Force India's Paul Di Resta, who was just barely slower than him! A lot of people are asking if any of these youngsters are fighting for a real drive in F1, and the answer is never easy. Mark Webber's Red Bull seat will likely be given to Daniel Ricciardo from Toro Rosso. And if that happens, it's then the question "Well, who gets Daniel's old seat?"

Formula 1 is unpredictable, and there's a lot more drivers than just Ricciardo who are interested in replacing Webber. Lotus indeed wants to keep Raikkonen, who most people thought would instantly be 2014's new Red Bull driver, partnering Sebastian Vettel. But it looks more likely we could have an underdog or rookie replacing the Australian Driver.

Day 1 Times:

1. Kevin Magnussen - 1:33.602 / McLaren
2. Paul Di Resta - 1:33.774 / Force India
3. Antonio Felix Da Costa - 1:33.821 / Red Bull
4. James Calado - 1:33.986 / Force India
5. Daniel Juncadella - 1:34.098 / Williams
6. Johnny Cecotto - 1:34.193 / Toro Rosso
7. Robin Frijns - 1:34.236 / Sauber
8. Nicolas Prost - 1:34.810 / Lotus
9. Davide Rigon - 1:34.874 / Ferrari
10. Alexander Rossi - 1:35.651 / Caterham
11. Tio Ellinas - 1:36.676 / Marussia
12. Max Chilton - 1:38.347 / Marussia


Day 2 Times: 

1. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:32.972 / Toro Rosso
2. Carlos Sainz Jr. - 1:33.016 / Toro Rosso
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:33.187 / Redbull
4. Davide Valsecchi - 1:33.554 / Lotus
5. Oliver Turvey - 1:33.864 / McLaren
6. James Calado - 1:33.957 / Force India
7. Antonio Felix Da Costa - 1:33.958 / Red Bull
8. Davide Rigon - 1:34.053 / Ferarri
9. Pastor Maldonado - 1:34.116 / Williams
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:34.224 / Sauber
11. Daniel Juncadella - 1:34.631 / Williams
12. Robin Frijns - 1:34.731 / Sauber
13. Will Stevens - 1:36.082 / Caterham
14. Paul Di Resta - 1:36.356 / Force India
15. Rodolfo Gonzalez - 1:37.949 / Marussia


Day 3 Times:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:32.894 / Red Bull
2. Adrian Sutil - 1:33.242 / Force India
3. Nicolas Prost - 1:33.256 / Lotus
4. Carlos Sainz Jr. - 1:33.546 / Red Bull
5. Davide Rigon - 1:33.592 / Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa - 1:33.624 / Ferrari 
7. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:33.647 / Toro Rosso
8. Gary Paffett - 1:34.924 / McLaren
9. Susie Wolff - 1:35.093 / Williams
10. Giedo Van Der Garde - 1:35.155 / Caterham
11. Daniil Kvyat - 1:35.281 - Toro Rosso
12. Charles Pic - 1:35.576 / Caterham
13. Kimiya Sato - 1:35.642 / Sauber
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez - 1:36.339 / Marussia
15. James Calado - 1:36.451 / Force India
16. Jules Bianchi - 1:36.744 / Marussia


Article Written By: Amy Hawk.