F1 testing day one: Hamilton tops timesheets

The first day of F1 testing has concluded, as teams take their newly revealed 2017 challengers out for a shakedown. Of course, testing shouldn’t necessarily be a judge of outright performance, but it does make for interesting reading anyway.

As for the number one runner? Why, that goes to 2016 runner-up Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, having run 73 laps in the afternoon and hitting a time of 1:21:765 on soft tyres. Interestingly enough, this time is only a tenth of a second down on the fastest lap at Barcelona, a 1:21:670 by Kimi Raikkonen in 2008.

The official F1 website added that the time was already a second faster than the fastest time during all of pre-season testing last year.

Second place was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with a 1:21:878 on medium tyres, having completed the most laps at 128.

Meanwhile, third place on the day went to Felipe Massa in the Williams, having laid down a lap of 1:22:076. The Brazilian also managed to complete 103 laps, significantly more than the actual race distance.

Sensor and battery problems affected Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, who still managed to finish fifth and hit 50 laps, ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

Unfortunately for McLaren, Fernando Alonso completed the fewest laps (29) due to issues with the oil system, lining up tenth otherwise with a 1:24:852.