Barcelona test, (1) Day 1

The Jerez test was a chance for the teams to gather important data on the 2012 spec cars, test out their new drivers and work out how to improve. The second test is all about making that improvement and trying something different.

(c) Octane Photographic

Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya is a favourite among the F1 circus. Drivers spend more time there than they do at any other track. The circuit is demanding with strong aerodynamic characteristics, it is very much a down force circuit. This means that we will have a better understanding of how teams sit compared to each other at the end of this test.



The visit to Barcelona is always intriguing, it is a true test of how good a car is so the time topping cars (particularly at the end of the 4 days testing) are most likely going to be at the front. If course the reading is not 100% depending on the developments brought to Australia.

No surprise that Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel topped the times today. The reigning 2 time world champion completed a faultless 79 laps. The German driver took over the reigns at the top just before the allocated lunch time break. His best time was a 1m23.265, set at the end of a long run.

Vettel finished just 2 tenths ahead of another German, Nico Hulkenberg. It was only his 2nd full day in the car after he lost half a day of running on day 3 of the Jerez test. The Force India driver circulated the circuit 97 times and faced no real problems.

(c) Octane Photographic

Many of the teams chose the warmer track conditions of Barcelona to test long runs and tyre durability. This meant that best times were often set at the end of a long run. Lewis Hamilton used these long runs to gather important data on the tyres and car performance, setting the 3rd best time along the way. It was a heavy contrast to last years disastrous test. The Brit was just 0.325 seconds off Vettel's best time, the field significantly closer at this stage.

Daniel Ricciardo continued Toro Rosso's strong pace in 4th. It meant that the STR7 has been in the top 5 of the times on every day of testing so far. The Aussie completed 76 laps with his best just 3 thousandths of a second off Hamilton's. Fernando Alonso followed in 5th with 75 laps completed. It looked slightly more promising for Ferrari, but they were still a good 8 tenths off Vettel in the RB8.

The Mercedes W03 was launched at the Circuit de Catalunya, just hours before the first day of testing at the track began. Michael Schumacher debuted the car at an official test and set a best time of 1m24.150. It was just 0.050 behind Fernando Alonso, who was in a car with 4 days of testing already completed. We will have to wait and see how the Mercedes team fare after missing the Jerez test, will it affect them badly or not? They still got 51 laps worth of data thanks to the 7 time world champion.

Behind Schumacher finished Segio Perez in the Sauber C31. 66 laps and a time of 1m24.219 was a decent effort from the Mexican and he finished as the last driver within a second of Vettel's best time.

(c) Octane Photographic

In 8th finished the Williams of Bruno Senna. The FW34 completed 97 laps but he was over 1 second off Vettel in the RB8, with a time of 1m25.711. This meant that not only was he 2.446 seconds behind Vettel, he was also over 1.5 seconds off Perez. This is a slight worry for Williams F1 fans, but not a 100% accurate reading of their pace and what they can really do compared directly to the rest.

9th was the best Caterham could of asked for. They had a troublesome day which meant just 31 laps were set. They had wanted to do some long runs and get as much data as possible, but that did not happen thanks to a broken track rod after just 9 laps. It took a good few hours for the problem to be resolved but after that the car ran well. He was also just 3 tenths off the Williams of Senna, even after 60 or so less laps set.

10th was not a true reflection of the Lotus E20's pace. Romain Grosjean was driving the car but felt a "strange" sensation from the team's second chassis. He reported the car was not responding "as it should" and the team asked him to return to the garage after just 7 laps. The team abandoned their running for the first day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya circuit after the chassis problem. The 2nd chassis will be sent back to their Enstone base for further checks, as they wait for the 1st chassis to be transported over.

The team then announced they will be pulling out of this Barcelona test to investigate the chassis problems and focus on the 3rd test.

Virgin debuted their new driver, Charles Pic, at this test. He is being given 3 days in the car to get comfortable and acclimatise to F1. They showed off their 2011 spec car and the Frenchman managed 121 laps. His best time of 1m28.026 was some way off the pace but he got plenty of trouble free laps under his belt.

HRT chose not to attend this test, but hope (though it is not 100% certain) to be at the 3rd test with their new 2012 challenger.

Times: Barcelona test (1) day 1:

Pos   Driver      Team           Time                 Laps
1. Vettel            Red Bull         1m23.265s             79
2. Hulkenberg    Force India     1m23.440s +0.175   97
3. Hamilton        McLaren         1m23.590s +0.325 114
4. Ricciardo       Toro Rosso     1m23.618s +0.353 76
5. Alonso            Ferrari           1m24.100s +0.835    75
6. Schumacher     Mercedes       1m24.150s +0.885   51
7. Perez             Sauber            1m24.219s +0.954    66
8. Senna             Williams        1m25.711s +2.446      97
9. Kovalainen      Caterham       1m26.035s +2.770    31
10. Grosjean        Lotus         1m26.809s +3.544         7
11. Pic                Marussia       1m28.026s +4.761     121