Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was having a quiet week of running until he came out of nowhere to set the fastest time seen at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya so far on the final day of the first pre-season test.

 

 

The German posted a 1:17.393 on what was a day of chat up and down the paddock of top teams sandbagging. He completed a total of 24 laps before his R.S.19 racer soon afterwards broke down on track and brought out the red flags.

 

“We had some good running today,” explained Hulkenberg after ending the day on top. “It was to get a feel of the car on shorter runs and assess it’s behaviour and different setup preferences,”

 

“We didn’t get in as many laps in as we have liked, but that’s part of testing and these things happen. It was a shame to stop on track to close our day, but we’ll be looking into that to see what happened.” Hulkenberg concluded.

 

 

Alexander Albon came close to ending the day quickest before being pipped by the aforementioned Hulkenberg, but his Honda-powered Toro Rosso showed it’s promise taking second on the time-sheets and clocking up 136 laps on the mileage charts.

 

“My first two days of F1 testing completed and I really enjoyed it!” said Albon reflecting on his week. “We had a good day today topping the timesheets in the morning session, I know it’s still early days and we don’t know what everyone else is doing but it’s a good sign for the future.”

 

“The first day began with a tricky start, but the team made me feel comfortable after that and we were able to get on with the programme. I think everything is going to plan quite well, we’ve hit our mileage target which is important for the guys back at the factory, and of course at the same time, I’m still learning the car,”

 

“The grip is so high that it took a while for my head to adjust to it, it’s been a big learning curve! I’m still not fully in the rhythm yet but I think after next week I’ll be there and ready to race.” Albon concluded.

 

 

Hulkenberg’s new Renault team-mate Daniel Ricciardo ended his first week of testing in third place on the time-sheets. The Australian completed 34 laps on his final morning run.

 

“I’m feeling more and more confortable each time I step in the car,” said Ricciardo. “We didn’t put in as many laps as we’d planned this morning, but that’s testing and we were caught up with some smaller issues, which meant we were stuck inside the garage.”

 

“The timing looks good on paper but it is impossible to be sure of the respective plans to put our lap times in perspective.” Ricciardo concluded.

 

 

World Champions Mercedes started to show a bit of their hands with their W10 as Valtteri Bottas finished fourth in the classifications and clocked up 57 laps in the afternoon looking at grip and balance differences between the softer compounds.

 

“The first week of testing was really good for us in terms of reliability, we got a lot of mileage in with the new car and didn’t experience any major issues,” explained Bottas. “Today we did some shorter runs, seeing how the W10 works when you try to extract a little bit more performance out of it. We’ve been making progress throughout the entire week, the car felt better every single day,”

 

“We’re now looking forward to next week when we will hopefully make even more progress. Many thanks to the entire team, it was a good first test. Now we’re all hungry to improve even more in the second test.” Bottas concluded.

 

 

Bottas’ team-mate Lewis Hamilton followed in fourth place, completing one lap more than the Finn in the mileage charts and focused on the same programme in his morning session.

 

“It was quite cold in the morning which meant that it was a little bit difficult with the tyres for everyone,” said Hamilton reflecting on the morning. “In general, the car was feeling better today and is coming together.”

 

“However, we still have to keep on digging deep, analysing the data and the changes that we are making. The reliability has been really solid which is a great showing of all the hard work that everyone in the factory has done,”

 

“But we have to keep on pushing, the competition looks very strong. The weather has been good all week so we could get through our programme and it was great to see the fans out there. I’m looking forward to coming back next week.” Hamilton concluded.

 

 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who topped the second day of running, came home in sixth as he focused on evaluating different setups and various tyre compounds. His best effort was on the C3 medium tyre with a 1:18.046.

 

“For now, I don’t want to say too much, because this is just testing,” Leclerc said. “But the feeling from the car is very good. We did many laps, the reliability was good and every day we managed to complete our programme.”

 

“I feel quite at ease in the car, even if there are still a few things I need to get used to, including how the team operates. But this is quite an easy car to drive. As Seb said, this doesn’t feel like a new car, but more like one that is quite well developed. Driveability is very good, which shows that the team has done an amazing job over the winter to bring a very solid car here,”

 

“As soon as I arrived here in Barcelona, I switched to ‘work’ mode and put any emotion to one side to get on with the job as well as possible,” Leclerc continued. “The results? I’m not really focusing on that side of things. I’m focusing on myself, trying to do my best and to improve with every lap.” Leclerc concluded.

 

 

Lando Norris completed his final day of his first week of testing in seventh place, with the young McLaren driver running setup and aero tests during the morning whilst focusing on longer runs and race simulations in the afternoon.

 

“I think today I did the most laps I’ve ever done on a test day,” explained Norris. “It was also the cleanest day we’ve had in terms of consistent running this week, so it was very productive.”

 

“We did some more race simulation today and I’ve definitely learned a lot over my two days in the car. We’ve found some improvements over the week, but there’s still a lot to work on. Overall, it’s been a good week. The guys have done a solid job over the winter putting the car together and the test has gone pretty smoothly,”

 

“We now have a better idea of the direction we want to work in with the car, and its strengths and weaknesses, and we’ll try to work on those weaknesses next week.” Norris concluded.

 

 

It was a tough but successful day for Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi who brought out the red flags twice in the last ten minutes of the session when his C38 racer stopped out on track but the Italian clocked up 154 laps in mileage, the most of everyone on the final day and set the eight best time.

 

“It was a good morning today, and like in the first day, the feeling of the car is very positive and the car looks pretty good,” Giovinazzi said. “And for sure we still need to improve something.”

 

“We did a lot of laps this morning and we’ll be checking everything after today’s running and continue to work hard for the next week and the upcoming four days to try and improve as much as we can,”

 

On himself and working with the team so far, Giovinazzi continued: “I think you know, after a lot of months off of driving, and for sure on my side I also need to physically comeback really strong and to work well together with the team and I think we have done a really good job and we need to keep this up before we get to Melbourne.”

 

 

The two Rich Energy Haas F1 Team cars followed next with Romain Grosjean ending his final day of the first week in ninth place on the time-sheets. After being hit with reliability issues throughout the test, the Kannapolis-Banbury outfit had a smoother day four. The Frenchman got through his programme, which saw him test the various different compounds and posting a 1:18.563 on the red C4 tyre.

 

“It was a good morning,” said Grosjean as he looked back on his morning. “I pretty much did the whole program we had planned, even finishing earlier than scheduled, so that’s good.”

 

“There were no problems on the car, which was obviously something we were looking at after the first few days. The car still feels very good. We’re still trying things, testing things, and getting the mileage in. I think we’re fairly happy with where we are.” Grosjean concluded.

 

 

Kevin Magnussen took over the VF-19 in the afternoon, using the medium C3 tyre to set a 1:18.720 and did a total of 66 laps with the Dane rounding out the top ten.

 

“I was happy to get a lot of laps in this afternoon, and more importantly, I felt comfortable in the car,” said Magnussen as he looked back on Thursday’s running. “We can see how the car’s improving and we enjoyed some consistent running today through both sessions.”

 

“Of course, there’s plenty more work to do, but I’m looking forward to driving the VF-19 again next week. We’ve definitely got something positive to build on as we prepare for the second test.” Magnussen concluded.

 

 

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly enjoyed a really productive day, working on long runs with his Honda-powered RB15 and he finished the day 11th. The Frenchman clocked up 146 laps in mileage and was satisfied with the progress of the Japanese manufacturer’s power-train.

 

“It was a really productive day” explained Gasly. “We managed 146 laps, so a lot of long runs but also a lot of tests done for the Team.”

 

“The overall feeling with the car is really good. It doesn’t show on the lap times today, but it is testing and we know what we’re doing, so I’m pretty happy,”

 

“This week has gone well. I managed to do a lot of laps, which was important for me, and I was able to get used to the car and my new engineer. We’ve done some good work in that regard this week and there’s a lot more to come next week as we get ready for Melbourne.” Gasly concluded.

 

 

Lance Stroll’s end to week one of pre-season testing was another valuable day for the SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team as they continued to work on long runs, setup work and understanding how the RP19 works and it’s balance. The Canadian was 12th on the time-sheets and posted a 1:19.664 with 72 laps on the board.

 

“It’s great to have a week of testing under our belt and I am feeling positive,” said Stroll. “We covered some good mileage today and went through most of our test programme: it’s been a good start and we can build on it next week.”

 

“My confidence and comfort with the team have grown: they have given me all the tools I need as a driver. They have been very supportive and this is what helps me get the best out of myself and the car,”

 

“I am looking forward to next week and doing more set-up work so that we can bring the quickest possible car to Melbourne.” Stroll concluded.

 

 

After arriving to the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya late due to some ongoing issues, Williams were pushing to make up for lost time. Reigning FIA Formula 2 Champion George Russell completed only 17 laps and posted a 1:20.977, which put the Briton in 13th place on the time-sheets.

 

It was very important to get some mileage under our belt and get a feel for the car,” explained Russell. “It gives us a good understanding of where we are at, our limitations and what we need to work on next week.”

 

“The car felt stable and I had a good feeling, but I am still yet to reach the full performance from the car. We are all excited to get back out on track on Tuesday but first we have a lot of work to do to make sure that the car is in the best possible state, that we have no issues and we can get the laps because we have some catching up to do.” Russell concluded.

 

 

Robert Kubica endured a difficult first in his first outing in the ROKiT Williams Racing FW42, suffering a couple of spins while blocking Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at different parts of the day. The Pole, completed a total of 48 laps and set a 1:21.542 as he worked through the team’s programme of gathering data on the aerodynamics.

 

It was my first time out in the car, so it does not feel like day four of testing, but day one,” said Kubica on his first day in the FW42. “This morning we spent the time gathering data, signing off tests for the engineering department and trying to put mileage on the car,”

 

“I had 12 performance laps in the car, so it is too early to talk about feelings, those will become clearer next week. It would be better to have more time in the car as Australia is not far off, from both a driver and a car point of view. Everybody has their own job in the team and I must concentrate on mine to ensure that we are in the best possible shape for the first race.” Kubica concluded.

 

 

F1 2019 Pre-Season Testing Day Four Classification

 

The second and final week of Pre-Season Testing begins Tuesday February 26.