Lewis Hamilton showed on the final day of the first Formula 1 pre-test at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit on Thursday (March 1) that his new Mercedes W09 could be a huge player in this season’s championship.
The Brit clocked a 1:19:333 to record not only the fastest time of the day, but also the quickest time of the four-day test.
For the last two days, bad weather plagued the track, with small bits of snow followed by an all-out flurry on Wednesday. However, by Thursday, the weather began with some bad weather, but in the afternoon, the weather cleared enough for most of the drivers to complete many laps on the circuit, including Hamilton, who posted his best time on a dry track.
Stoffel Vandoorne led most of the day until Hamilton overtook his best time. But the Belgian took on some hyper-soft tires and remained in second place before handing over his McLaren to Fernando Alonso, who finished in fifth.
It was a good day for American Haas F1 Team, which put Kevin Magnussen in the cockpit and produced excellent results, with the Dane finishing fourth best for the day. However, it was not so good for Max Verstappen and his Red Bull entry. The team had struggled for mileage all week because of the weather, and now with a good chance for change, the Dutchman encountered mechanical issues in the morning, and when he returned in the afternoon, he ended up into the gravel trap at Turn 12, completing the day with the tow truck lifting his car out of it.
Testing will resume next week at the same circuit beginning on Tuesday, March 6.
Formula One Pre-Season Test
At Circuit Barcelona-Catayunya, Barcelona, Spain
Fianl Results- Day Four
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:19.333, 69 laps (Medium)
2. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1:19.854, 110 laps (Hyper-soft)
3. SebastianVettel, Ferrari, 1:20.241, 120 laps (Soft)
4. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:20.317, 96 laps laps (Super-soft)
5. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:20.929, 51 laps (Super-soft)
6. Carlos Sainz, Renault, 1:20.940, 60 laps (Medium)
7. Lance Stroll, Williams, 1:21.142, 54 laps (Soft)
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:21.973, 65 laps (Soft)
9. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:22.058, 35 laps (Soft)
10. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso, 1:22.134, 147 laps (Super-soft)
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:22.507, 49 laps (Soft)
12. Valterri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:22.789, 60 laps (Medium)
13. Charles Leclerc, Sauber, 1:22.808, 59 laps (Soft)
14.Markus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:23.825, 79 laps (Super-soft)
15. Sergey Sirotkin, Williams, 1:31.979, 47 laps (Intermediate)