F1 Barcelona Test 2017, Day 1: Sebastian Vettel leads the pack in the morning

Whether this is a good omen, we don't know yet, what is certain is that Ferrari ends the first morning of testing at Montmelo before all. With the best time of 1:22.791, obtained on medium tyre, Sebastian Vettel he left behind the Mercedes di Bottas, leader in terms of laps with 79 laps under his belt, and second on the soft tire with a time of 1:23.169. Soft rubber also for Perez, third with his Force India. Massa, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Ericsson and Ricciardo complete the top ten on the mediums. No time trial however Alonso, forced to pit with his McLaren for much of the session, due to a problem with the lubrication system. The only red flag of the morning was “called” by the Red Bull di Ricciardo, stopped on the track due to a sensor problem.

News – Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, with reversed seats this year, respectively on Renault and Haas, officially open the 2017 season, leaving the pits first when the light turns green. Massa, Ericsson and Bottas follow soon after, all on medium compounds. Vettel and Ericsson join the group, which returns after the usual installation laps. Only Bottas continues to lap and after 8 minutes he already sets the first time of the day: 1:33.445. Ricciardo's Red Bull is the last to leave the pits, almost thirty minutes before the start.

Bottas lowers the reference time to 1:25.209, while Vettel comes behind him in 1:26.768. The German from Ferrari then took the lead in 1:24.953 and then dropped to 1:23.560. After 10 laps he returns to the pits. Red Bull takes third place in 1:28.712 but immediately afterwards stops on the track due to a sensor problem. Red flag.

Back in the running, and the first hour had just passed, Hulkenberg followed the leading trio with a time of 1:28.928. Meanwhile, McLaren let it be known that Alonso will have to wait a while before returning to the track: problems with the lubrication system on his McLaren. Meanwhile, Massa takes the third time, with a time of 1:27.913. Perez is behind him, but then overtakes him in 1:26.171. Almost two hours after the start, Haas, Toro Rosso, Sauber and McLaren are still the only ones without a time. Switching to the softs, Mercedes takes the lead again with a time of 1:23.370. At the stroke of the second hour Bottas leads the standings ahead of Vettel, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Ericsson. Magnussen, Sainz and Alonso still without a time trial.

Massa overtakes Perez and climbs to third, while Ericsson does the same with Ricciardo, taking sixth place. Meanwhile, Magnussen's Haas stalls at the entrance to the pit lane and is pushed back to the pits. First time of the morning for Sainz with Toro Rosso, 1:27.762, which earned him sixth place. The Spaniard uses medium tyres. Two and a half hours after the start, these are the laps completed: Bottas 39, Vettel 28, Hulkenberg 22, Massa 17, Ericsson 16, Perez 14, Sainz 10, Magnussen 7, Ricciardo 4, Alonso 1. Perez takes third place at the damage to Massa, while Vettel returns to the track followed shortly after by Bottas. Mercedes continues with the soft tires and drops to 1:23.169. An hour before the lunch break he remains in the lead, followed by Vettel, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Ericsson and Ricciardo. Soft tire also for Perez, who drops to 1:24.005 and remains third.

Shortly after 12pm Vettel, again on medium tyre, returns to lead the time list with a best time of 1:22.791. Magnussen gets back to work after the stop and takes the seventh time in 1:27.229, ahead of Ericsson and Ricciardo. Haas improves and drops to 1:26.404, thus overtaking even Sainz. Bottas persists with the soft tires and exceeds 66 laps, those scheduled for the Barcelona GP. Massa improves but remains fourth. In the final stages Magnussen crashes into the barriers at turn 10 and loses his nose. Sainz takes fifth place at the start of the lunch break. The checkered flag gives Vettel the morning, followed by Bottas, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Ericsson, Ricciardo and Alonso, the latter without a time trial.

F1 Barcelona Test 2017, Day 1 – Times, results and morning laps