PRE-SEASON TEST #1 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES
The reigning Formula 1 champion had only completed 25 laps over the first three days of testing but good conditions allowed for all teams to make up for lost time in the final day.
Hamilton, who took over from Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session, immediately jumped to the sharp end of the field on medium tyres as the track continued to improve. He completed 69 laps and finished the day with a best time of 1m19.333s, half a second faster than Stoffel Vandoorne’s best time, set on the hyper soft compound of tyre.
It was a strong day for McLaren. Despite wet conditions early in the day, Vandoorne was keen to make the most of the track time. The Belgian spent most of the morning swapping fastest times with Valtteri Bottas while also putting in some impressive mileage for the team. McLaren couldn’t quite make it to top of the times two days in a row, but Vandoorne held onto second.
He completed 110 laps before handing the car to Fernando Alonso for the final few hours of the day. Alonso completed more than 50 laps to go fifth quickest, around a second slower than his young team-mate.
Sebastian Vettel managed 120 laps, but couldn’t match the Mercedes in terms of speed. He finished the day third fastest, ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.
At the other end of the chart, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could only manage 35 laps.
Since passing 100 laps in the first day of testing, Red Bull’s running has been limited this week. A fuel pump problem hampered the squad on Tuesday and there was little it could do to improve its lap count on Wednesday.
The team’s bad luck continued into the final day. Verstappen spent most of the morning in the garage, setting his first timed lap three and a half hours into the session. The time did briefly put him top of the order, but he dropped down the standings as others found improvement.
The 20-year-old had just switched to soft tyres and was setting personal bests when he ran into the gravel at turn 12 and brought out the red flags.
It signaled the end of his running and he finished the day ninth fastest.
Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll – both sharing duties with their team-mates – finished sixth and seventh quickest, ahead of Sergio Perez, who was making his first appearance in the new Force India.
Pierre Gasly was only 10th quickest but topped the lap count chart with an impressive 147 laps.
Nico Hulkenberg and Bottas finished 11th and 12th quickest after running at the top of the order in the damp morning session.
Sauber duo Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson claimed 13th and 14th, ahead of Sergey Sirotkin.
TIMES:
1. Lewis Hamilton (PM) – 1:19.333 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 69 Laps
2. Stoffel Vandoorne (AM) – 1:19.854 / McLaren-Renault / 110 Laps
3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:20:241 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 120 Laps
4. Kevin Magnussen - 1:20.317 / Haas-Ferrari / 96 Laps
5. Fernando Alonso (PM) – 1:20.929 / McLaren-Renault / 51 Laps
6. Carlos Sainz (PM) - 1:20.940 / Renault-Renault / 60 Laps
7. Lance Stroll (PM) – 1:21.142 / Williams-Mercedes / 54 Laps
8. Sergio Perez - 1:21.973 / Force India-Mercedes / 65 Laps
9. Max Verstappen – 1:22.058 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / 35 Laps
10. Pierre Gasly – 1:22.134 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / 147 Laps
11. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) – 1:22.507 / Renault-Renault / 49 Laps
12. Valtteri Bottas (AM) – 1:22.789 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 60 Laps
13. Charles Leclerc (PM) – 1:22.808 / Sauber-Ferrari / 59 Laps
14. Marcus Ericsson (AM) – 1:23.825 / Sauber-Ferrari / 79 Laps
15. Sergey Sirotkin (AM) – 1:31.979 / Williams-Mercedes / 47 Laps
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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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