Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP  & TIMES

    The last day of pre-season testing saw Kimi Raikkonen secure the fastest time of the session. The Ferrari driver, having fully recovered after suffering from illness a few days prior, put in a 1:17.221 and completed a total of 157 laps.

    Close behind was Fernando Alonso with a 1:17.784. McLaren had more mechanical issues in the morning part of the session, but Alonso was able to round up 93 laps and and hold on to that second quickest time.

    Sainz rounded up the top 3 with an impressive 1:18.092 in the Renault, while Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean completed the top 5.

    Charles Leclerc, running in the Sauber, finished 9th with a 1:19.118 but had a small incident in which he slid off track and hit the barriers near Turn 11. However, he still completed 75 laps during the session. The next time he gets in the car will be for the first free practice session of the first F1 weekend of 2018.

TIMES:

1. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:17.221 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 157 Laps

2. Fernando Alonso - 1:17.784 / McLaren-Renault / 93 Laps

3. Carlos Sainz - 1:18.092 / Renault-Renault / 45 Laps

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:18.327 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 92 Laps

5. Romain Grosjean - 1:18.412 / Haas-Ferrari / 181 Laps

6. Valtteri Bottas (PM) - 1:18.825 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 104 Laps

7. Brendon Hartley - 1:18.949 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 156 Laps

8. Esteban Ocon - 1:18.967 / Force India-Mercedes / 163 Laps

9. Charles Leclerc - 1:19.118 / Sauber-Ferrari / 75 Laps

10. Sergey Sirotkin (AM) - 1:19.189 / Williams-Mercedes / 105 Laps

11. Lewis Hamilton (AM) - 1:19.464 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 97 Laps

12. Lance Stroll (PM) - 1:19.954 / Williams-Mercedes / 27 Laps

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #4 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - LINE-UP

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton (AM) / Valtteri Bottas (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Kimi Raikkonen

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Daniel Ricciardo

RENAULT-RENAULT: Carlos Sainz (AM) / Nico Hulkenberg (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Esteban Ocon

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Sergey Sirotkin (AM) / Lance Stroll (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Brendon Hartley

HAAS-FERRARI: Romain Grosjean 
McLAREN-RENAULT: Fernando Alonso 

SAUBER-FERRARI: Charles Leclerc

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The third day of testing saw Sebastian Vettel climb to the top of the time-sheets with an impressive 1:17.182 and also a total of 188 laps. 

    The top three all completed over 100 laps. Second fastest, Kevin Magnussen, in the Haas, completed 153 while Pierre Gasly, entering his first full year of Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, did a total of 169 laps.

    Stoffel Vandoorne finished just outside the top 5 for McLaren with a 1:18.855 and gathered a total of 151 laps.

    The two Mercedes drivers were also not in the top 5 this time around. Lewis Hamilton, who drove in the afternoon portion of the day, finished in 8th with a 1:19.296, just ahead of his team-mate. Bottas, who drove in the morning was close behind in 9th with a 1:19.532.

    Renault saw both drivers finish higher up in the times than Mercedes. Sainz and Hulkenberg, who were also splitting driving duties for the day, finished in the top 5. Hulkenberg did a total of 79 laps and completed a fastest time of 1:18.675 while Sainz did a 1:18.725 and racked up 69 laps for the team.

    Friday is the last day of Pre-Season testing ahead of the season opener in Melbourne, Australia.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:17.182 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 188 Laps

2. Kevin Magnussen - 1:18.360 / Haas-Ferrari / 153 Laps

3. Pierre Gasly - 1:18.363 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 169 Laps

4. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - 1:18.675 / Renault-Renault / 79 Laps

5. Carlos Sainz (PM) - 1:18.725 / Renault-Renault / 69 Laps

6. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:18.855 / McLaren-Renault / 151 Laps

7. Marcus Ericsson - 1:19.244 / Sauber-Ferrari / 148 Laps

8. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:19.296 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 84 Laps

9. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:19.532 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 97 Laps

10. Robert Kubica (AM) - 1:19.629 / Williams-Mercedes / 73 Laps

11. Sergio Perez - 1:19.634 / Force India-Mercedes / 159 Laps

12. Max Verstappen - 1:19.842 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 187 Laps

13. Lance Stroll (PM) - 1:20.262 / Williams-Mercedes / 67 Laps

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #3 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #3 - LINE-UP

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Max Verstappen 

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Sergio Perez

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Robert Kubica (AM) / Lance Stroll (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Pierre Gasly

HAAS-FERRARI: Kevin Magnussen
McLAREN-RENAULT: Stoffel Vandoorne

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson 

*Subject to change

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

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

    The second day of the final pre-season test ended with Ricciardo and both Mercedes drivers at the top of the time-sheets.

    Daniel Ricciardo, who lapped up 165 laps, set the fastest time of the day: a 1:18.047.

    Lewis Hamilton who drove in the AM was close behind with a 1:18.400. Team-mate, Bottas, who took over for the afternoon session, followed in third with a 1:18.560. Between the two, they racked up a total of 175 laps for the day.

    Rookie, Charles Leclerc, got nearly that many laps by himself. The newly-signed Sauber driver did 160 laps over the course of the day before a small slide sent him off-track and ended his run.

    Another driver having a great time with their car was Brendon Hartley, who finished in 5th with a 1:19.823 and gathered 119 laps for the Italian team.

    Ferrari ended up having to recruit Vettel back to the car for the morning's running after Kimi Raikkonen reported feeling too ill to drive, suffering from was said to be food poisoning. However, Raikkonen recovered enough to track 49 laps later in the day. Vettel finished 4th fastest with a 1:19.541. Raikkonen was further down in 9th with a 1:20.242.

    Fernando Alonso who took the wheel of the McLaren for day 2, ended up not getting a full day of running due to an oil leak. He sat on the sidelines while McLaren changed the engine in the car. He barely made it out before the end of the session and was able to get the 6th fastest time and rack up 57 laps.

    Thursday and Friday will mark the final 2 days of pre-season testing.

TIMES:

1. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:18.047 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 165 Laps

2. Lewis Hamilton (AM) - 1:18.400 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 90 Laps

3. Valtteri Bottas (PM) - 1:18.560 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 85 Laps

4. Sebastian Vettel (AM) - 1:19.541 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 66 Laps

5. Brendon Hartley - 1:19.856 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 119 Laps

6. Fernando Alonso - 1:19.856 / McLaren-Renault / 57 Laps

7. Carlos Sainz (AM) - 1:20.042 / Renault-Renault / 88 Laps

8. Romain Grosjean - 1:20.237 / Haas-Ferrari / 78 Laps

9. Kimi Raikkonen (PM) - 1:20.242 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 49 Laps

10. Lance Stroll (AM) - 1:20.349 / Williams-Mercedes / 63 Laps

11. Nico Hulkenberg (PM) - 1:20.758 / Renault-Renault / 102 Laps

12. Esteban Ocon - 1:20.805 / Force India-Mercedes / 130 Laps

13. Charles Leclerc - 1:20.919 / Sauber-Ferrari / 160 Laps

14. Sergey Sirotkin (PM) - 1:22.350 / Williams-Mercedes / 80 Laps

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #2 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #2 - LINE-UP

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton (AM) / Valtteri Bottas (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Daniel Ricciardo 

RENAULT-RENAULT: Carlos Sainz (AM) / Nico Hulkenberg (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Esteban Ocon

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Lance Stroll (AM) / Sergey Sirotkin (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Brendon Hartley

HAAS-FERRARI: Romain Grosjean 

McLAREN-RENAULT: Fernando Alonso 

SAUBER-FERRARI: Charles Leclerc

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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

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

    Sebastian Vettel topped the times in the first day of the second preseason test at Barcelona.

    The Ferrari driver set his fastest time of the day with medium tyres in the morning session, his 1m20.396s lap two tenths of a second faster than Valtteri Bottas, who led for most of the morning.

    McLaren’s misery continued as Stoffel Vandoorne came to a stop due to a power shut down just one hour into the morning, bringing out the first red flag of the week.

    He spent most of the morning in the pits but managed a handful of laps just before the lunch break to take his lap count to seven.

    Hoping to make up for lost time, Vandoorne was the first man out I the afternoon and managed to triple his lap count before coming to a stop two hours  into the session with a similar problem.

    He managed a total of 38 laps over the course of the day and was 12th fastest from 13 drivers.

    McLaren wasn’t the only team with problems. Pierre Gasly spent most of the afternoon in the pits due to a brake system issue and Kevin Magnussen’s running was restricted due to a possible ERS component problem.

    A last minute driver change put Max Verstappen in the Red Bull to start the week. After a difficult week one, Red Bull seemed to be back in control, managing 130 laps – second only to Vettel’s 171 laps – and third fastest.

    Lewis Hamilton was the fastest man to only run in the afternoon. He finished fourth overall, ahead of Gasly and Magnussen.

    Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz took seventh and eighth, though Renault warned Sainz was aiming for a race distance in his session rather than lap time.

    The Williams’ duo were also sharing duties in the first day of the second test. Sergey Sirotkin, who was running in the faster morning session, finished ninth quickest, ahead of Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson.

    Lance Stroll took over for the afternoon, finishing at the bottom of the timings but with over 80 laps.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:20:396 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 171 Laps
2. Valtteri Bottas (AM) – 1:20.596 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 86 Laps
3. Max Verstappen – 1:20.649 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 130 Laps
4. Lewis Hamilton (PM) – 1:20.808 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 91 Laps
5. Pierre Gasly – 1:20.973 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 54 Laps
6. Kevin Magnussen - 1:21.298 / Haas-Ferrari / 96 Laps
7. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) – 1:21.432 / Renault-Renault / 48 Laps
8. Carlos Sainz (PM) - 1:21.455 / Renault-Renault / 91 Laps
9. Sergey Sirotkin (AM) – 1:21.588 / Williams-Mercedes / 42 Laps
10. Sergio Perez - 1:21.643 / Force India-Mercedes / 93 Laps
11. Marcus Ericsson – 1:21.706 / Sauber-Ferrari / 120 Laps
12. Stoffel Vandoorne – 1:21.946 / McLaren-Renault / 38 Laps
13. Lance Stroll (PM) – 1:22.937 / Williams-Mercedes / 86 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #1 - LINE-UP

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

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Max Verstappen 

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Sergio Perez 

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Sergey Sirotkin (AM) / Lance Stroll (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Pierre Gasly 

HAAS-FERRARI: Kevin Magnussen 

McLAREN-RENAULT: Stoffel Vandoorne

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost 

Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES

PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton topped the times in the final day of the first pre-season test in Barcelona.

    The reigning Formula 1 champion had only completed 25 laps over the first three days of testing but good conditions allowed for all teams to make up for lost time in the final day.

    Hamilton, who took over from Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session, immediately jumped to the sharp end of the field on medium tyres as the track continued to improve. He completed 69 laps and finished the day with a best time of 1m19.333s, half a second faster than Stoffel Vandoorne’s best time, set on the hyper soft compound of tyre.

    It was a strong day for McLaren. Despite wet conditions early in the day, Vandoorne was keen to make the most of the track time. The Belgian spent most of the morning swapping fastest times with Valtteri Bottas while also putting in some impressive mileage for the team. McLaren couldn’t quite make it to top of the times two days in a row, but Vandoorne held onto second.

    He completed 110 laps before handing the car to Fernando Alonso for the final few hours of the day. Alonso completed more than 50 laps to go fifth quickest, around a second slower than his young team-mate.

    Sebastian Vettel managed 120 laps, but couldn’t match the Mercedes in terms of speed. He finished the day third fastest, ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.

    At the other end of the chart, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could only manage 35 laps.

    Since passing 100 laps in the first day of testing, Red Bull’s running has been limited this week. A fuel pump problem hampered the squad on Tuesday and there was little it could do to improve its lap count on Wednesday.

    The team’s bad luck continued into the final day. Verstappen spent most of the morning in the garage, setting his first timed lap three and a half hours into the session. The time did briefly put him top of the order, but he dropped down the standings as others found improvement.

    The 20-year-old had just switched to soft tyres and was setting personal bests when he ran into the gravel at turn 12 and brought out the red flags.

    It signaled the end of his running and he finished the day ninth fastest.

    Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll – both sharing duties with their team-mates – finished sixth and seventh quickest, ahead of Sergio Perez, who was making his first appearance in the new Force India.

    Pierre Gasly was only 10th quickest but topped the lap count chart with an impressive 147 laps.

    Nico Hulkenberg and Bottas finished 11th and 12th quickest after running at the top of the order in the damp morning session.

    Sauber duo Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson claimed 13th and 14th, ahead of Sergey Sirotkin.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton (PM) – 1:19.333 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 69 Laps
2. Stoffel Vandoorne (AM) – 1:19.854 / McLaren-Renault / 110 Laps
3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:20:241 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 120 Laps
4. Kevin Magnussen - 1:20.317 / Haas-Ferrari / 96 Laps
5. Fernando Alonso (PM) – 1:20.929 / McLaren-Renault / 51 Laps
6. Carlos Sainz (PM) - 1:20.940 / Renault-Renault / 60 Laps
7. Lance Stroll (PM) – 1:21.142 / Williams-Mercedes / 54 Laps
8. Sergio Perez - 1:21.973 / Force India-Mercedes / 65 Laps
9. Max Verstappen – 1:22.058 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 35 Laps
10. Pierre Gasly – 1:22.134 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 147 Laps
11. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) – 1:22.507 / Renault-Renault / 49 Laps
12. Valtteri Bottas (AM) – 1:22.789 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 60 Laps
13. Charles Leclerc (PM) – 1:22.808 / Sauber-Ferrari / 59 Laps
14. Marcus Ericsson (AM) – 1:23.825 / Sauber-Ferrari / 79 Laps
15. Sergey Sirotkin (AM) – 1:31.979 / Williams-Mercedes / 47 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #4 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #4 - LINE-UP

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Max Verstappen 

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Sergio Perez 

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Sergey Sirotkin (AM) / Lance Stroll (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Pierre Gasly 

HAAS-FERRARI: Kevin Magnussen 

McLAREN-RENAULT: Stoffel Vandoorne (AM) / Fernando Alonso (PM)

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson (AM) / Charles Leclerc (PM)

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The third day of the first Winter test in Barcelona was not a very productive day due to snow fall being  on and around the circuit. Most drivers did not bother to head out to do a lap or set a time due to the conditions.

    The session was delayed due to safety reasons. The medical helicopter had poor visibility and was unable to take flight.

    Fernando Alonso was the only one to do more than 2 laps and was the sole driver to even set a time in the wet, snowy weather. Alonso completed a total of 11 laps and put in a 2:18.545 to put him 1st on the time-sheets. 

    Only 4 other drivers completed a lap or two but no one else went on to set a time.

TIMES:

1. Fernando Alonso - 2:18.545 / McLaren-Renault / 11 Laps
2. Daniel Ricciardo - No Time Set / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 2 Laps
3. Brendon Hartley - No Time Set / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 2 Laps
4. Marcus Ericsson - No Time Set / Sauber-Ferrari / 1 Lap
5. Robert Kubica (AM) - No Time Set / Williams-Mercedes / 1 Lap
6. Kimi Raikkonen - No Time Set / Ferrari-Ferrari / 0 Laps
7. Romain Grosjean - No Time Set / Haas-Ferrari / 0 Laps
8. Sergio Perez - No Time Set / Force India-Mercedes / 0 Laps
9. Lance Stroll (PM) - No Time Set / Williams-Mercedes / 0 Laps
10. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - No Time Set / Renault-Renault / 0 Laps
11. Lewis Hamilton (AM) - No Time Set / Mercedes-Mercedes / 0 Laps
12. Carlos Sainz (PM) - No Time Set / Renault-Renault / 0 Laps
13. Valtteri Bottas (PM) - No Time Set / Mercedes-Mercedes / 0 Laps

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #3 - LINE-UP

PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #3 - LINE-UP

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton (AM) / Valtteri Bottas (AM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Kimi Raikkonen

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Daniel Ricciardo

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Sergio Perez 

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Robert Kubica (PM) / Lance Stroll (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Brendon Hartley 

HAAS-FERRARI: Romain Grosjean

McLAREN-RENAULT: Fernando Alonso

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #1 - Day #2 - LINE-UP

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

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas 

FERRARI-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Max Verstappen

RENAULT-RENAULT: Carlos Sainz

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Esteban Ocon

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Sergey Sirotkin (AM) / Robert Kubica (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Pierre Gasly 

HAAS-FERRARI: Kevin Magnussen

McLAREN-RENAULT: Stoffel Vandoorne 

SAUBER-FERRARI: Charles Leclerc 

*Subject to change

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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 - LINE-UP

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

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

MERCEDES-MERCEDES: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)

FERRARI-FERRARI: Kimi Raikkonen

RED BULL RACING-TAG-HEUER: Daniel Ricciardo

RENAULT-RENAULT: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Carlos Sainz (PM)

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES: Nikita Mazepin

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES: Lance Stroll (AM) / Sergey Sirotkin (PM)

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-HONDA: Brendon Hartley 

HAAS-FERRARI: Romain Grosjean

McLAREN-RENAULT: Fernando Alonso

SAUBER-FERRARI: Marcus Ericsson

*Subject to change

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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #4 - Re-Cap & Times

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Kimi Raikkonen topped the times on a red flag ridden final day of testing. A number of teams, including Ferrari suffered mechanical problems as the teams headed onto the track for the last time before Melbourne.

    As has become the norm, the early part of the session was where most of the fastest lap times came. Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, and Max Verstappen each topped the times at points, but nobody was able to beat the 1:18.634 Raikkonen was able to set.

    The first red flag of the day came an hour and a half into the first session, when Romain Grosjean ran into the gravel at turn 5. It wouldn’t be the last time the Haas driver ran into trouble. He stopped on the back straight just before the lunch break, bringing out the red flag again.

    Unsurprisingly, the Honda powered McLaren fell into trouble again. Fernando Alonso had completed less than 20 laps when he stopped on track due to the same electrical issue that had caused problems for Stoffel Vandoorne yesterday, even though the team had changed parts of the power unit and chassis overnight. Alonso did manage to get back out before the end of the session, only to stop almost immediately.

    The team seemed to clear up the problem by the afternoon, as Alonso was able to get back out. He managed to complete 43 laps before the end of the day.

    McLaren weren’t the only driver to have limited morning running. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull hadn’t been out much after his pitch for the top spot early in the session. That was because Red Bull were fixing a turbo issue on the car, but the teenager was still able to get out in the afternoon. By that point, though, he’d already set the second fastest time of the day and Red Bull’s fastest time of the test.

    Anybody watching the timing screens would have had a less exciting afternoon, as many of the teams began race simulations again, but the simulations were disturbed by red flags. None from McLaren this time though.

    Raikkonen was the first to bring out the red flag in the afternoon. The Ferrari was on a race simulation when it suffered a problem. Raikkonen moved onto the unused part of the circuit to try and return to the pits, only to lock the rear wheels and spin at the unused chicane.

    Carlos Sainz was the culprit for the sixth and final red flag of the day as he stopped on the start finish straight after setting the third fastest time earlier in the day.

    Mercedes had a quiet day, with their two drivers finishing fourth and fifth by the end of the day with just over 100 laps between them, but the German team still heads to Australia favourites.

TIMES:

1. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:18.634 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 110 Laps
2. Max Verstappen - 1:19.438 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / 70 Laps
3. Carlos Sainz - 1:19.837 / Toro Rosso-Renault / 131 Laps
4. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:19.845 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
5. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:19.850 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
6. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - 1:19.885 / Renault-Renault / 45 Laps
7. Sergio Perez - 1:20.116 / Force India-Mercedes / 138 Laps
8. Jolyon Palmer (PM) – 1:20.205 / Renault-Renault / 43 Laps
9. Lance Stroll - 1:20.335 / Williams-Mercedes / 132 Laps
10. Romain Grosjean - 1:21.110 / Haas-Ferrari / 76 Laps
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:21.389 / McLaren-Honda / 43 Laps
12. Marcus Ericsson (AM) - 1:21.670 / Sauber-Ferrari / 59 Laps
13. Pascal Wehrlein (PM) - 1:23.527 / Sauber-Ferrari / 42 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #4 - Line-Up

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - LINE-UP

Mercedes-Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas (AM) / Lewis Hamilton (PM)*

Ferrari-Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen

Red Bull-TAG-HEUER: Max Verstappen

Williams-Mercedes: Lance Stroll

Renault-Renault: Nico Hulkenberg (AM) / Jolyon Palmer (PM)*

McLaren-Honda: Fernando Alonso

Toro Rosso-Renault: Carlos Sainz

Force India-Mercedes: Sergio Perez

Sauber-Ferrari: Marcus Ericsson (AM) / Pascal Wehrlein (PM)*

Haas-Ferrari: Romain Grosjean

* - Notes drivers are sharing testing duties

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Posted By: Amy Hawk

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Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #3 - Re-Cap & Times

PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    It was Sebastian Vettel who took Ferrari to the top of the time sheets on day 3 of the second pre-season test. Vettel wasted no time and racked up a total 153 laps over the 8 hour session. His fastest time was 1:19.024 and that kept him safe from being knocked from the top.

    Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas also made the most of their shared running times. Hamilton took the AM session and set the second fastest time of the day before Bottas took over in the afternoon and finished in 8th with a 1:21.819.

    McLaren suffered from more car issues, with Vandoorne's car stopping not once but twice in the AM session due to an electrical malfunction. This hampered Vandoorne's overall running for the day. However, the young Belgian driver still set the 7th fastest tie of the day and managed 48 laps total.

    Palmer and Kvyat also experienced less-than-perfect situations with their cars stopping on track and causing delays in running. This raises worry and questioning about how well the Renault engines will perform when the season starts in Melbourne. Hulkenberg was supposed to take over in the afternoon for the Renault team but plans were changed.

    Esteban Ocon continues to do well for his new team. The Rookie set the third fastest time for Force India with a 1:20.161. He also competed 137 laps. This is one of Force India's best results in this year's pre-season testing, so-far.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:19.024 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 153 Laps

2. Lewis Hamilton (AM) - 1:19.352 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 52 Laps

3. Esteban Ocon - 1:20.161 / Force India-Mercedes / 137 Laps

4. Daniil Kvyat - 1:20.416 / Toro Rosso-Renault / 94 Laps

5. Kevin Magnussen - 1:20.504 / Haas-Ferrari / 117 Laps

6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:20.824 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / 127 Laps

7. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:21.348 / McLaren-Honda / 48 Laps

8. Valtteri Bottas (PM) - 1:21.819 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 95 Laps

9. Pascal Wehrlein (PM) - 1:22.347 / Sauber-Ferrari / 44 Laps

10. Jolyon Palmer - 1:22.418 / Renault-Renault / 53 Laps

11. Marcus Ericsson (AM) - 1:23.330 / Sauber-Ferrari / 88 Laps

12. Felipe Massa (PM) - 1:24.443 / Williams-Mercedes / 77 Laps

13. Lance Stroll (AM) - 1:24.863 / Williams-Mercedes / 85 Laps

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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