The first 2016 Formula 1 pre-season test took place today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of the day in the new Ferrari SF16-H while Lewis Hamilton recorded the highest mileage after clocking 156 laps in the new Mercedes-AMG F1 W07.
| Driver/Team | Time |
|---|---|
| 1. Sebastian Vettel/Ferrari | 1:24.939/59 laps |
| 2. Lewis Hamilton/Mercedes | 1:25.409/156 laps |
| 3. Daniel Ricciardo/Red Bull | 1:26.044/87 laps |
| 4. Valtteri Bottas/Williams | 1:26.091/80 laps |
| 5. Alfonso Celis/Force India | 1:26.298/58 laps |
| 6. Jenson Button/McLaren-Honda | 1:26.735/84 laps |
| 7. Carlos Sainz/Toro Rosso | 1:27.180/55 laps |
| 8. Marcus Ericcson/Sauber | 1:27.555/88 laps |
| 9. Pascal Wehrlein/Manor | 1:28.292/54 laps |
| 10. Romain Grosjean/Haas F1 | 1:28.399/31 laps |
| 11. Jolyon Palmer/Renault F1 | 1:29.356/37 laps |
Vettel’s best time of the day was 1:24.939 enough to top the timesheets while Hamilton managed a second place after setting a personal best time of 1:25.409. Daniel Ricciardo was the third fastest man in the new Red Bull RB12 challenger leading Valtteri Bottas in the new Williams FW38 and Alfonso Celis in the Force India VJM09 car that was revealed today on the same circuit.
A total of 11 teams were present today and all but Sauber were using their newly revealed 2016 F1 cars. The Swiss-based team was still using the C34 challenger from 2015, they are expected to reveal the new C35 car in coming days.
See Also: All the 2016 F1 Cars
Newcomers Hass F1 managed to set a time of 1:28.399 in the new Haas VF-16 car driven by ex-Lotus driver Romain Grosjean. Joy Palmer closed the timesheet after clocking a time of 1:29.356 in the new Renault RS16 car. Elsewhere, freshman and 2015 DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein made his official F1 debut today driving the new Manor MRT05 car – now with a Mercedes power unit – and managed to record a time of 1:28.292 to finish ninth.
