Mercedes-AMG opened the final Formula 1 pre-season test by setting the quickest time today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Nico Rosberg clocked a time of 1m 23.022s on soft tires to set the best time of the day.
2016 F1 Barcelona Test Results, Day 1 Week 2
1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-AMG) – 1:23.022, 82 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1:23.229, 123 laps
3. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) – 1:24.735, 93 laps
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) – 1:24.836, 72 laps
5. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) – 1:25.049, 69 laps
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG) – 1:25.051, 90 laps
7. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) – 1:25.176, 144 laps
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) – 1:25.336, 121 laps
9. Felipe Nasr (Sauber) – 1:25.493, 103 laps
10. Kevin Magnussen (Renault F1) – 1:25.760, 119 laps
11. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas F1) – 1:26.661, 23 laps
12. Rio Haryanto (Manor) – 1:27.625, 45 laps
It was the first time during the tests that Mercedes ran on soft tires, having used medium rubber last week. Rosberg went ahead to score 82 laps before making way for his teammate, Lewis Hamilton who racked up an additional 90 laps for the Silver Arrows in the afternoon. Hamilton’s time of 1m 25.051s placed him sixth on the timesheet.
Elsewhere, Williams Valtteri Bottas was the second fastest man of the day after setting a personal best time of 1m 23.229s albeit running on the new quicker ultrasoft tires. The best achievement of the day however went to McLaren’s Fernando Alonso who managed to set the third fastest time in the MP4-31. The car was initially struck by trouble just before lunch break but the team made it back to the track before achieving their best result so far. In addition to the third place, Alonso managed to accumulate a total of 93 laps.
The day was not without a few glitches, especially to American team Haas F1 who were forced to abandon the track after their car incurred a fuel system fault. Esteban Gutierrez only managed to do 23 laps with a best time of 1m 26.661s.
Kimi Raikkonen spent most of his afternoon in the garage after his Ferrari SF16-H developed technical problems. The Finn managed to set the fourth fastest time of the day, and headed Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Hamilton. Max Verstappen finished in seventh place ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Felipe Nasr gave the new Sauber C35-Ferrari its first official track outing today garnering a total of 103 laps and the 9th fastest time overall.
Thank you for posting this and for sharing informations.
I knew that Mercedes is a good F1, and a quick F1 ! And the mythical photo of the F1 with “martini” on the wings who made a huge controversy in the world of the F1 !