Kimi Raikkonen ended his week on top of the time sheets for Ferrari at the conclusion for the first pre-season test of 2017.
The day was off to a wet start after the track was artificially dampened in the early hours of the morning to allow the teams to test the intermediate and wet weather tyres. But things didn’t really go according to plan. Although teams did complete some running with the wet and intermediate tyres non of the teams were particularly quick to start running. As soon as the track started drying out there was a flurry of activity on the track and teams were able to continue with their normal test program.
Mercedes sat out almost the entire morning session after an electrical problem confined the W08 to the garage. The team were able to get the issue resolved and back out for an installation lap just before the lunch break.
📸 First minutes of wet testing at the Circuit with Vandoorne, Giovinazzi, Vettel and Max Verstappen! #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/w04OXAwTgV
— Circuit BCN-CAT (@Circuitcat_eng) March 2, 2017
It wasnt smooth sailing for all the teams though. The Williams team did not run at all today because of damage sustained to the car after Lance Strolls crash on Day 3.
Toro Rosso had a horrid final day of testing after they were forced to change the engine in the STR12. Daniil Kvyat was only able to complete an installation lap after the team discovered an issue with the engine. Toro Rosso were hoping to get the car fixed by the end of the lunch break but the STR12 not seen for the rest of the day.
Max Verstappen, who held the top spot for a while, ended his day 2nd fastest ahead of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer.
Romain Grosjean ended another good day for Haas completing 118-laps for the day. Team Principal Gunther Steiner praised Ferrari for the reliable power unit and credited their ability to their long runs to their engine supplier.
CHEQUERED FLAG! 🏁🏁🏁 First week completed! #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/dssX1VnHI0
— Circuit BCN-CAT (@Circuitcat_eng) March 2, 2017
Antonio Giovinazzi was in the cockpit of the Sauber C32 today. The Ferrari test driver completed 84-laps for the day and was 5th fastest for the day.
Sergio Perez was at the wheel of the Force India and closed off a positive week for the Silverstone based team. He felt that he learnt quite a bit about the car in the week with his confidence growing in the car.
Stoffel Vandoorne capped off a difficult week for McLaren finishing 7th fastest with his fastest time coming courtesy of a set of ultra soft tyres. McLaren have fallen behind after engine issues limited the team for the first two days of testing.
Valtteri Bottas put a few laps on the board for Mercedes after the lunch break. They had to cut their session short after the team found data in the telemetry that they didn’t like.
Nico Hulkenberg ended the day in 9th place after taking over driving duties after the lunch break.
First week of #F1Testing = DONE
Today’s scores on the doors from Day 4 in Barcelona 👀
Nice reading again for @ScuderiaFerrari 👊 pic.twitter.com/mtyigxKnYO
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2017
