Lando Norris topped the timesheets on the first day of F1’s new era in a positive sign for Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the most laps to brush aside any early reliability concerns.
There were few issues on the first day of the pre-season shakedown in Barcelona despite wholesale regulation changes for teams to contend with.
While little can be read into times at this early stage, Norris blew away the field with his 1:19.568 to go more than half-a-second faster than the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in a clear second and third.
Norris was, however, the only driver to set his fastest time on the softest tyre, leaving Ferrari as arguably the big winners of day one.
In fourth was George Russell, who was marginally quicker than Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, but completed an extra 27 laps.
Ricciardo did not take to the track on Wednesday but will be in action on day two of the event.
Just as important during pre-season events is laps completed — and 2021 champion Verstappen easily completed the most in his Red Bull.
He clocked 147 laps for the day, while Fernando Alonso (127), Yuki Tsunoda (121) and Norris were the other drivers to hit three figures.
The only teams to encounter significant issues were Haas and Alfa Romeo, who only completed 43 laps and 32 laps respectively.
New Alfa Romeo recruit Valtteri Bottas bemoaned the teething issues on his first day.
“For sure today was compromised,” Bottas said. “We lacked quite a bit of mileage but at least we got some running, and got some kind of idea how to progress for tomorrow.
“But I just now hope we can get a good two days running here in Barcelona.
“Yes, we did have a few issues, and the issues we had were pretty costly with time. Some issues we had with reliability, some with mechanical things. We understand it, luckily, completely and we understand how to fix it, we just didn’t have enough time during the day to fix it properly.”
Earlier, Red Bull, who unveiled their livery but not the actual car earlier this month, finally showed off the new RB18 early on day one.
F1 technical expert Sam Collins said: “It’s the sidepods that are generating the interest. But the most important thing is what we can’t see: what’s going on underneath.
“The Red Bull floor is not the most complex that we’ve seen today – and I haven’t seen enough of the rear. I think there’s a lot more to come. Who knows where they stand right now? The most advanced car I’ve seen right now is the Haas...”
‘SLUGGISH’
After testing, Norris gave his opinion on F1’s new cars which are about 40 kilograms heavier following a shift to 18-inch wheels.
“The weight makes a massive difference for just the driving, how the car reacts,” he said. “It’s a lot heavier than it was last season. So it just feels a bit slower, a bit more sluggish.
“It’s like running with the race fuel of last season before almost a qualifying lap in a way. You do feel it in like the braking and certain areas. The performance is not quite the same.
“But it shouldn’t be too long (to adjust) and I think by the end of the day, you’re a little bit more used to it and it feels almost normal again.”
DAY ONE OF BARCELONA TESTING
Times
1) Lando Norris, McLaren, 1m19.568, C4 tyre
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m20.165, C3
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1m20.416 C3
4) George Russell, Mercedes, 1m20.784, C3
5) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m20.929 C3
6) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 1m21.276, C3
7) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m21.638, C3
8) Fernando Alonso, Alpine, 1m21.746, C2
9) Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m22.246, C2
10) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m22.572 C3
11) Alex Albon, Williams, 1m22.760 C3
12) Mick Schumacher, Haas, 1m22.962 C3
13) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1m23.327 C2
14) Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 1m23.379, C3
15) Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 1m24.505, C2
16) Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo, 1m25.909, C3
*C1 = hardest tyre, C5 = softest tyre
Laps
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 147 laps
2) Fernando Alonso, Alpine, 127
3) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 121
4) Lando Norris, McLaren, 103
5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 80
6) George Russell, Mercedes, 77
7) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 73
8) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 67
9) Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 66
10) Alex Albon, Williams, 66
11) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 52
12) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 50
13) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 23
14) Mick Schumacher, Haas, 23
15) Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 20
16) Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo, 9
