Bojan Vrbnjak
For this reason today's results or times they are not representative and are as authoritative as last year’s snow. Nevertheless, we publish them in the end, although they need to be taken into account several factors: With how much fuel were driven by racers as much as they actually are load the engines, with which tires they drove what program they performed, etc. Draw conclusions from this test about the possible power ratio it is stupid and all sorts reasoning and guessing pointless.
Immediately after the start of testing, he took care of the attention Red Bullov race car RB18, with which he tested today Max Verstappen, and which was actually the attraction of the racetrack boxes Circuit of Barcelona-Catalonia. Many bosses, technical directors and also some racers, among whom he was not missing either Lewis Hamilton, they watched the creation with interest Adrian Newey. We have been a story to many raised eyebrows and thinking what the hell the top designer has re-imagined.
But as said, testing in Barcelona serve for the first serious acquaintance and testing new race cars and understandably that teams and racers don’t go full steam ahead. And who will take off their pants on the first day? The point is to figure out how the technique works. In general, however, they posed today two questions: what is she like visibility with larger 18-inch tires and whether it can really be better follow a competitor in front of you. In the latter, many today have also tried this in practice on the track. And for team engineers, this will be valuable data. It was interesting to follow Carlos Sainz, who drove quite a few laps for Max Verstappn. Did he do it because he liked it rear RB18, we don’t know, but it was definitely a test here tracking the racer in front of you.
Of course, it didn't go without problems, at least with some teams, especially with Haas in Alfa Romeowho had their minor and major problems or let’s call it that childhood diseases. Both of these teams also struggled in the afternoon. And while it is Valtteri Bottas afternoon with his C42 could get back on track, however, an hour before the end of training Mick Schumacher still monitoring training from the team’s command desk. Nothing encouraging to start for Americans, which are promising this year step forward and they sacrificed the entire last season for that purpose. They will have to in the next two days make up a lot.
If so times are not authoritative, however, is a good indicator in terms of reliability number of laps taken, where he was Max Verstappen with his RB18 the most diligent individual racer. The Dutchman collected at the end of the day 147 rounds and thus his team Red Bull made the second place before Mercedes, for which they are George Russell (morning) in Lewis Hamilton (afternoon) collected 127 rounds, how many are for Alpine collected also Fernando Alonso. The first in accumulating the number of rounds, however, were at Ferrari, because they are Leclerc in Sainz collected 153 rounds.
And finally, the promised times. Around half an hour before the end training, some racers wore their cars in a softer rubber compound. Lando Norris is with his McLarn on the mixture C4 first broke the mark 1:20 minutes. He is young later British added more gas and fixed his time so he reached the end of the day 1: 19.568 minutes and also as the only one left under the 1:20 minute mark. He was a good half a second behind him Charles Leclerc with Ferrari, and just under a tenth more than his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Ferraris fans and also responsible teams from Maranella despite second and third place today, they don’t want to attribute it to it no significance. Barcelona and the best testing time - that's it once upon a time and at that time the hopes were great, the expectations even greater, the desire of the typhus not to mention. We know how it ended: Mercedes he was a class of his own in the championship again.
Times of the first day of testing in Barcelona
| Poz | Racer | Hour | Circles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norris | 1:19.568 | 103 |
| 2 | Leclerc | 1:20.165 | 80 |
| 3 | Sainz | 1:20.416 | 73 |
| 4 | Russell | 1:20.784 | 77 |
| 5 | Hamilton | 1:20.929 | 50 |
| 6 | Hag | 1:21.276 | 52 |
| 7 | tsunoda | 1:21.638 | 121 |
| 8 | Alonso | 1:21.746 | 127 |
| 9 | Verstappen | 1:22.246 | 147 |
| 10 | Bottas | 1:22.572 | 23 |
| 11 | Albon | 1:22.760 | 66 |
| 12 | Schumacher | 1:22.962 | 23 |
| 13 | Stroll | 1:23.327 | 67 |
| 14 | Latifs | 1:23.379 | 66 |
| 15 | mazepin | 1:24.505 | 20 |
| 16 | Kubica | 1:25.909 | 9 |
Photo gallery - Photo: HB Press
