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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Written By: Amy Hawk

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Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost 

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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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost

    

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

No copyright infringement intended

Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost 

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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Follow us on Twitter @bethonieboost & @F1Insider78

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

No copyright infringement intended

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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Follow us on Twitter @bethonieboost & @F1Insider78

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

No copyright infringement intended

Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost 

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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Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost

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

No copyright infringement intended

Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost 

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

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

    Sebastian Vettel finished fastest in the second day of preseason testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.

    Low temperatures limited running across the field – especially in the morning session – but the Ferrari driver managed a total of 98 laps over the course of the day.

    Vettel enjoyed a quiet morning, but put in a series of strong laps at the start of the afternoon and jumped to the top of the timings, knocking off Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in the process.

    A small spin at turn two brought out the red flag when he brought debris onto the track, but Vettel managed to get the Ferrari back to the pits without any help.

    He finished the day 0.3s faster than Bottas and Stoffel Vandoorne.

    The track was quiet for most of the morning, with only a handful of laps completed after the first hour.

    Things started to pick up just before midday when the track was at its warmest – with the lunch-break cancelled to allow for extra track time.

    That action was cut short when Charles Leclerc span at turn four and his Sauber was left stranded in the gravel. He spent the next two hours I the pits but eventually managed to get back out, ending the day 10th fastest, quicker only than the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.

    Max Verstappen’s running was hampered by a fuel leak early in the day. He made up for lost time when he did manage to get on track, ending the day fourth fastest with 67 laps.

    Carlos Sainz Jnr and Pierre Gasly took fifth and sixth.

    After limited running on the first day of testing, Sergey Sirotkin was back in the Williams in the morning session. The rookie put in a good number of laps considering the poor conditions before handing over to reserve driver Robert Kubica for the final three hours. The pair finished seventh and eighth quickest, with Kubica 0.327s faster than Sirotkin.

    Esteban Ocon finished ninth quickest in his first day of testing.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:19:673/ Ferrari-Ferrari / 98 Laps
2. Valtteri Bottas - 1:19.976 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 94 Laps
8. Stoffel Vandoorne – 1:20.325 / McLaren-Renault / 37 Laps
4. Max Verstappen – 1:20.326 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 67 Laps
5. Carlos Sainz - 1:21.212 / Renault-Renault / 65 Laps
6. Pierre Gasly – 1:21.318 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 82 Laps
7. Robert Kubica (PM) – 1:21.495 / Williams-Mercedes / 48 Laps
8. Sergey Sirotkin (AM) – 1:21.822 / Williams-Mercedes / 52 Laps
9. Esteban Ocon - 1:21.841 / Force India-Mercedes / 79 Laps
10. Charles Leclerc - 1:22.721 / Sauber-Ferrari / 81 Laps
11. Kevin Magnussen - 1:22.727 / Haas-Ferrari / 36 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Follow us on Twitter @bethonieboost & @F1Insider78