Norris leads the first day of Formula 1 mass testing in Barcelona

The first day is gone. The Formula 1 He’s back on the track with eight hours of track activity this Wednesday (23) at the opening of the pre-season group tests. The first day was more focused on understanding new cars and behavior in long stretches of track situations, something no team had done with new cars until then. Lando Norris was the fastest that day, with the MCL36 from McLaren.

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Even with cars almost brand-new in all respects starting in the 2021 season, today he was clear about ten more serious issues. The session was not bothered by any red flags and there were no major drawbacks. At least the teams have acknowledged that: a Alfa Romeo He only ran four laps in the morning, but blamed it on a “too small component to replace” and it took time, but nothing serious.

Norris scored 1:19.568 when he put on C4 tires, the second weakest tire – no one used a C5 during the day – and overcame Charles Leclerc. The detail is that the English man’s flying lap came in the final hour of the day’s activity, but Leclerc didn’t even walk into the afternoon session: he maintained the lead on the morning lap.

Testing continues Thursday, starting at 5:00 a.m. (Brasilia time), for the second day in Barcelona And another eight hours divided into two shifts – from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

a grand prize Primarily covers the first week of exams Formula 1 In the Barcelona circuit-Catalonia With Eric Caldoch. Plus, the GP keeps track of everything He lives And the at At present.

Find out how this afternoon’s F1 test went:

Unlike in the morning, when seven of the 10 teams rushed to take the track in the first few minutes, the afternoon session started much slower. Max Verstappen He was first off the track with the RB18, but with about 15 minutes of real science. Soon, Valtteri Bottas took the wheel of a car Alfa Romeo for the first time.

During the first 30 minutes, the track was practical and simulated for a long race. Then, while Verstappen put on new C1 tires, Lewis Hamilton It debuted on the track for pre-season – and with a C3 tire set. Quickly, the seven-time champion proved to be the fastest on the track. The lining was low, though. Hamilton ran at 1 minute 23 seconds 5 seconds, while the others were simulating a race with stiffer tyres. The times are not yet close to the morning times.

The Ferrari I decided to put C4 tires on a car Carlos Sainz for a series of roles. The Spaniard improved his time to 1:22,666,1:22,516, jumping to seventh on the day. The afternoon session went on without big laps: even Sainz was only seventh. Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda They followed the track for long stretches, but with C2 tires and a race pace.

Hamilton entered the top five of the day at the start of the second hour, while Verstappen put on C3 tyres. The opening minutes of the second hour provided the first real increase in traffic during the afternoon. Alpine and Williams, with Fernando Alonso and Alexander Albon, they didn’t have fast laps and it took more or less up to the 90 minute mark to go on the clock. There was also that Ferrari, mercedes And the red bull The lap percentage mark passed.

The day went on without any red flags or major issues on the part of the teams, which is impressive considering the cars are so different from last year. Two hours later, the leader was still Charles Leclerc, who did not go to the track during the afternoon. For his part, Verstappen had the most miles accumulated. Alone, it was over 100. mercedes And the Ferrari Split shifts between pilots, so the split was nicely split.

If the laps didn’t change much, Verstappen and Sainz got the pick-up for a few laps. The remains of a race for the few witnesses who were able to follow it. Hamilton even started a flying tour, but gave up.

So, three hours later, Leclerc was still ahead and Sainz was putting on too Ferrari In second place. Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Vettel, Tsunoda, Verstappen, Bottas and Albon completed the top ten. Valtteri’s name was even more surprising, like Alfa Romeo It was a turbulent morning and only made 24 laps adding the two shifts.

The mercedes He changed the front suspension, tuned it up and put it back on the track for the past few minutes, but that’s not where the next flight lap came from. With just over 30 minutes on the clock, Norris shone and dropped to just under 1 minute 19 seconds, beating Leclerc’s time in the morning. A little later, I would improve the lap again: 1 minute 568 minutes.

pilot McLaren It was led by Leclerc, Sainz, Russell, Hamilton, Vettel, Tsunoda, Alonso, Verstappen and Bottas in the top ten. Most walked is Verstappen, who came close to 150 laps – Alonso, with more than 120, came in second.

Formula 1 2022, pre-season, Barcelona, ​​first day:

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