Formula 1

BARCELONA TEST DAY 1 : HAMILTON LEADS

Published

3 years ago

19/02/2020

Lewis Hamilton has topped the timesheets on the opening day of pre-season testing from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Hamilton’s fastest lap time was a 1:16.976, just seven-tenths of a second down on the overall fastest lap time from winter testing in 2019.

Mercedes occupied the first two positions, with Bottas’ lap time reading just over three-tenths down on Hamilton. The pair split driving duties during the day, with Hamilton taking over in the afternoon.

There were no red flags during the session, with the biggest dramas befalling Max Verstappen and Kevin Magnussen. In the morning, Magnussen had a moment at Turn 9, but recovered to avoid the barriers.

In the afternoon, Verstappen spun twice at Turn 13 and had to run through the gravel at Turn 8 – but sustained no damage to his RB16.

The Dutchman ended the session in fourth place, behind the Racing Point car driven by Sergio Perez, which attracted attention due to its similarities to the Mercedes car.

Daniil Kvyat was fifth in front of Carlos Sainz, who set 160 laps for McLaren. However, his tally didn’t quite match that of Verstappen, who ended the day with 168 laps to his name

The Renault pair followed in seventh and eighth, with Daniel Ricciardo, who drove the car in the afternoon, in front of his teammate Esteban Ocon.

George Russell finished inside the top ten for Williams, in what was a much more positive day for the Grove-based squad compared to 2019. Lance Stroll was tenth in the second Racing Point.

Ferrari ended the day outside the top ten, with Leclerc placing himself in 11th place with 132 laps.