Formula 1: Day 1 Testing Review

Day 1 of testing is complete and we have seen every driver on track and have an early read on who has started well, which team has struggled and things we have learnt in the opening 8 hours.

After each day, we will separate the events of the morning and afternoon session, then add things we have learnt, and positives and negatives on the first day.

Morning Session:

- Max Verstappen straight out the blocks and finishes fastest with 1:32.959.

- Alex Albon completes most laps (74)

- Sainz second, Albon third, Zhou fourth, Hulkenberg fifth -

- Felipe Drugovich in the Aston Martin the only driver to cause red flag – sensor issue related to ECU.

- Red Bull & Ferrari looking the strongest early on.

- Mercedes looks stable and smooth.

- No massive porpoising but bouncing on some cars.

- Ferrari’s front wing bending slightly – issue resolved.

- 10 drivers separated by 1.929 seconds.

Afternoon Session:

- Max Verstappen remains first and improves to 1:32.837 – Alonso 0.029s behind

- Alonso’s Aston Martin second, Sainz third (+0.416), Leclerc fourth (+0.430), Norris fifth (+0.625)

- Lando Norris’ running restricted as tape appears on right-front wheel brow – brake cooling issues.

- Fernando Alonso came out late for Aston Martin after they reportedly broke Alonso’s floor during pit-stop practice.

- 1st-19th separated by +2.25s (Sergio Perez did not run today)

- Max Verstappen completed 157 laps (850km) as he did both AM & PM sessions.

Five things we have learnt:

1. Toto Wolff confirms no bouncing issues; “It seems to be balanced in the right way”. “There’s no bouncing, which is good news, apart from that big bump at the end of the straight”. The team have “a good starting point”.

2. Porpoising affecting some teams, who are testing different ride heights to see the effect on performance.

3. McLaren having a bad start to testing once again – issues and struggles restricting runs.

4. Red Bull effortlessly look fastest – Ferrari also look good, Mercedes stable.

5. Aston Martin & Williams set representative times on Day 1.

Constructors Review:

Red Bull – Will be delighted to complete a large amount of laps and complete tests, and finish top (albeit irrelevant) – starting off how they finished last season.

Ferrari – Not much coverage from Ferrari, but they will be delighted not to suffer any obvious issues (apart from the front wing issue) with the car and finish 3rd and 4th.

Mercedes – Considering the bouncing last year, Mercedes will be delighted not to be bouncing and have a stable ride to build on for the next two days.

Alpine – Did not suffer any issues, but will be certainly disappointed with the standings (16th & 17th) and that they are not further up – unless they are sandbagging.

McLaren – Had issues today which restricted running and had issues with stability on track. Will be disappointed with Day 1 despite Norris being 0.6s off.

Alfa Romeo – Quietly went about their business and probably where they expected to be in the midfield. Had a small issue with Bottas but did not affect running.

Aston Martin – Will be delighted with Alonso’s finishing position, but disappointed with the Drugovich issue which meant Alonso had to wait. A promising start for the team. Has Dan Fallows worked his magic?

Haas – Hulkenberg set a good time on his full-time F1 return. Magnussen sits bottom but Haas certainly not miles off and avoided issues. Avoided issues.

AlphaTauri – Sitting near the rear of the field but will be happy with both drivers, and particularly De Vries who is relatively close to Tsunoda’s time.

Williams – Will be certainly happy with the standings, which has both drivers in the top 10. A promising start from Sargeant, Albon (+0.834 off of Verstappen) set an impressive time.

We will be back this time tomorrow for a wrap of the Day 2 test!