F1 2019 testing.

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Formula 1 testing 2019: Williams in turmoil as Sebastian Vettel fastest

By Andrew Benson

Williams are in turmoil ahead of the new Formula 1 season as a result of delays building their new car.

The new FW42 missed the first day of pre-season testing on Monday, will not be ready for Tuesday and is likely to miss much of Wednesday as well.

On track, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel set the pace, with a lap 0.4 seconds quicker than McLaren's Carlos Sainz.


Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said Ferrari "looked ultra-strong" but added no team was chasing ultimate lap times.

Williams in trouble
Williams' car was still at the team's Oxfordshire factory on Monday and was not scheduled to be finished until late on Tuesday, before being flown to Spain.

The problems have led to questions about the future of technical boss Paddy Lowe.

The 56-year-old joined Williams in 2017 from Mercedes, where he was the senior technical figure as the team won three consecutive world title doubles from 2014-16.

Lowe is ultimately responsible for all technical aspects of the Williams group, including the performance of the F1 car, and pressure is building on him within the team.

Insiders say that employees had been warning for some months that delays could lead to the car missing the start of testing, but that action was not taken in time to solve the problem.

Teams are allowed only eight days of testing - four this week and four next - before the first race in Australia on 14-16 March.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams described the delay as "extremely disappointing".

She added: "It is looking more likely than not that we will now not be in a position to run on track until Wednesday at the earliest."

On Monday, Williams hoped that the car would be ready to fly to Spain on Tuesday evening but the earliest it is expected to be at the track is around 0100-0200 local time on Wednesday.

Although Williams plan a nightshift to prepare the car for the third day of the test, they accept it is unlikely to be ready for the start of testing at 09:00 local time, given the inevitable teething troubles any team encounters with a new car.

The aim is to get the car out on track at some point on Wednesday, but that could slip to Thursday - the final day of the test - if there are any problems.

Just as worryingly for Williams - who dominated much of the 1980s and 1990s in F1 but slumped to last in the constructors' championship in 2018 - the team fear privately that the car will be slow when it does finally hit the track.

Insiders say it is projected to be at least two seconds slower than last year's car, which was already the slowest in F1.

Rule changes to front wings aimed at improving the racing have reduced downforce at the initial stages of design but many teams have clawed a large part of it back, and the times set on track on Monday suggest most teams' cars will have comparable pace at least to 2018.

If the word from inside the team is accurate, Williams could be facing a season adrift of the rest of the field.

But that remains a subject of speculation until at least it runs, and more likely until the race in Melbourne next month.

Williams were hoping to make progress this season after their poor performance forced them to recognise how far they had fallen, and they embarked on some internal restructuring.

The team have an all-new driver line-up of Robert Kubica, who is returning to F1 after eight years out caused by life-changing injuries suffered in a rally crash in February 2011, and British novice George Russell, the reigning Formula 2 champion.

The latest delay comes after Williams were forced to postpone a planned shakedown test on Saturday, and then to miss the first day of pre-season testing on Monday.

Ferrari look 'ultra strong'
Vettel ended the first day fastest, ahead of Sainz, Haas driver Romain Grosjean and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton, who drove only in the afternoon after taking over from Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, was ninth fastest as the world champion, as usual, concentrated on longer runs in testing.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said he thought the Italian team, who let their title chances slip through their fingers last year with a series of errors, "looked ultra-strong".

"We are all looking at lap times but it's not the purpose of these tests - it's about going through the data and testing the parts," Wolff said. "Sebastian Vettel's time was very quick. The time was quicker than everyone else and definitely the Ferrari has been going strong this morning."

Wolff said Hamilton had come back from his winter break in good form.

"The (car) weight regulations have been lifted and he came back stronger and musclier than before," Wolff said. "He is in a super mental state, the best I have seen so far. So he looks physically and mentally in shape. A good start."

Pre-season testing times are a notoriously misleading guide to real form as it is impossible to know the specifications cars are running in - tyres, fuel loads and engine modes all make a significant difference to performance.

Most of the teams ran reliably despite it being the first full day of testing, although both Haas and McLaren had cars stop on track.

Raikkonen spun the Alfa Romeo into the gravel at Turn Five on his first flying lap of the day but there were no crashes. And Vettel had a spin, but stayed on track, at the chicane early in the day.

Fastest times, day one, first pre-season test, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari one minute 18.161 seconds ***

2 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:18.558 ****

3 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:19.159 ***

4 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:19.426 ***

5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo 1:19.462 ***

6 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso 1:19.635 ****

7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:19.944 ***

8 Valterri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:20.127 **

9 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:20.135 **

10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:20.980 **

11 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:20.983 **

Tyres: * = C1 (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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F1 testing: Leclerc fastest for Ferrari in Barcelona

By Andrew Benson

Day three of F1 testing in Barcelona is live on the BBC Sport website from 08:00 GMT
Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on top for the second day in a row at the start of pre-season testing in Spain.

The 21-year-old Monegasque, who steps up to Ferrari this season after an impressive debut year in 2018, headed McLaren's British novice Lando Norris.

Leclerc's time was within 0.1 seconds of that achieved by team-mate Sebastian Vettel in setting the pace on Monday.


Red Bull's Pierre Gasly had a crash late in the day, while world champion Lewis Hamilton was 10th for Mercedes.

• No-deal Brexit a 'nightmare' for British-based F1 teams

• Relive day two of F1 pre-season testing

Gasly lost control on the entry to Turn 12 and spun into the gravel trap late in the afternoon, brushing the barrier with his rear wing.

The Frenchman looked mortified to have crashed on his first day in a new car following his promotion to a top team, after spending last year with Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso.

Gasly sat in the car for some time after the incident, and when he climbed out left his helmet on until he had returned to the pits and gone out of sight at the back of the garage.

He was not the only driver to have a 'moment' - Leclerc had a spin at the chicane, as Vettel did on Monday, while British-born Thai novice Alexander Albon spun into the gravel on his first lap out of the pits on his debut for Toro Rosso.

Albon later spun again and ended the day fourth quickest of 11 drivers who took part in the day, using the second-fastest C2 tyres, which Norris also used for his quick time late in the day.

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton in action during testing in Barcelona
Leclerc was a second clear of the field until Norris' improvement, an eye-catching performance in the McLaren - although an earlier, slightly slower, time set on two-step harder tyres was arguably more impressive.

Behind Norris, Kevin Magnussen's Haas was third fastest ahead of Albon, the Alfa Romeo of Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Gasly.

Get to know all the cars for the 2019 season

Headline lap times in pre-season are a notoriously unreliable guide to form because teams do not reveal the specification in which cars are running, and tyres, fuel loads and engine modes all have a significant effect on lap time.

On top of that, teams are at this stage focusing more on reliability and learning rather than absolute speed.

Five-time champions Mercedes in particular always tend to run a low-key programme in testing.

Nevertheless, Ferrari's reliability and pace has impressed onlookers.

On Monday, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said they "looked ultra-strong". On Tuesday, Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo said: Ferrari have come out strong - I feel like they have the last few seasons. Performance and reliability at the moment, they seem to be creating a statement. That's really the only team that's stood out for now."

Red Bull's Pierre Gasly crashed during today's testing
Williams were missing for a second consecutive day as they fought delays to the build of their new car, which was due to leave their Oxfordshire factory to fly to Barcelona on Tuesday evening.

Williams say the car should be at the track by 04:00-05:00 local time on Wednesday, after which they will have to finish the build.

The team expect to be able to run after lunch on Wednesday and finally get their pre-season testing programme off the ground.

Keep up-to-date with the latest F1 gossip ahead of the 2019 season

Fastest times, day two, first pre-season test, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari one minute 18.247 seconds ***

2 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:18.553 ****

3 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas 1:19.206 ***

4 Alexander Albon (Tha) Toro Rosso 1:19.301 ****

5 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo 1:19.312 ****

6 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:19.535 ***

7 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:19.814 ***

8 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:19.837 ***

9 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:19.886 ***

10 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:19.928 ***

11 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:20.433 ***

12 Pietro Fittipaldi (Brz) Haas 1:21.849 ***

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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Formula 1 testing 2019: Williams describe delayed start to testing as 'embarrassing'

By Andrew Benson

Williams' George Russell on the track in Barcelona
Williams say it was "embarrassing" to miss two days of pre-season testing because their car was not ready.

The Williams, driven by Briton George Russell, finally made it on to the track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday - with a day and a half left of the four-day test.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams said: "It's not a situation that we anticipated, or that we ever wanted to find ourselves in."


Debutant Russell was 13th fastest.

The 21-year-old was eight seconds off the pace set by Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, who - after a late run on the fastest tyre - pipped Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen by 0.058 seconds.

Williams added: "We're not just disappointed. It's embarrassing not bringing a race car to a circuit when everyone else has managed to do that, particularly a team like ours that has managed to bring a race car to testing for the past 40-odd years."

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• Ferrari better than last year - Hamilton

Williams said she wanted to apologise to the team's fans, but also to drivers Russell and Robert Kubica, who is returning to F1 after an eight-year absence following a 2011 rally crash that left him with partial movement in his right arm.

Williams said the delays "became apparent quite late on", and after initially hoping they could make the second day of the test "parts just weren't coming through as we hoped they would".

She refused to expand on why the problem had happened.

The situation has raised questions within the team about the future of chief technical officer Paddy Lowe, who is ultimately responsible for all technical parts of the company.

The team cancelled a media briefing that had been scheduled for Lowe, saying it would now not take place until next week's second test after the car had undertaken significant running.

And Williams ducked questions about Lowe, saying: "I've read a lot of speculation about his position. Right now all I am focused on and the team should be focused on is making sure the car is in the right place."

Kubica is due to drive the car on Friday morning, before Russell runs again in the afternoon, and Williams is hopeful the team will be able to make up for lost time.

"We've missed two days of testing, and that's not ideal," she said. "That's a lot of potential kilometres. But I don't think that we will actually know the full impact of having missed those days until probably a bit later on.

"Clearly we're doing everything we can to condense the programme that we had, to make sure that we maximised the time available and we really focused our efforts and attention on the most important and critical areas to make sure the car is in the best shape possible for Australia."

Russell managed 23 laps in the afternoon, with a best time of one minute 25.625 seconds.

Williams said the team were still waiting for parts to arrive to allow them to concentrate on an aerodynamic assessment programme on Friday.

Ferrari continue to impress
Kvyat's late dash on the softest tyres displaced Raikkonen, who had topped the times for much of the day.

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo also leapt up the times late in the day, with a run on the second-softest tyre, to push Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel down to fourth.

Nevertheless, Ferrari continued to impress with their pace and reliability - Vettel and new team-mate Charles Leclerc were fastest on the first two days.

World champion Lewis Hamilton, who was 12th fastest for Mercedes, said Ferrari were "very strong", adding: "It appears they have a better package than last year, which means it will be a bigger challenge for us."

Hamilton added Mercedes were concentrating on learning about their car and it would not be until the second pre-season test next week that people would have a better idea where the teams stood.

Get to know all the cars for the 2019 season

Fastest times, day three, first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

1 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso 1:17.704 *****

2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo one minute 17.762 seconds *****

3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:18.164 ****

4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari1:18.350 ***

5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:18.787 ***

6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:18.800 ****

7 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:19.189 ***

8 Pietro Fittipaldi (Brz) Haas 1:19.249 ****

9 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:19.354 ***

10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:20.102 ***

11 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:20.693 ***

12 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:20.818 ***

13 George Russell (GB) Williams 1:25.625 ***

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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F1 pre-season testing 2019: Ferrari 'a bit ahead' of Mercedes, says Valtteri Bottas

By Andrew Benson

Valtteri Bottas finished fifth in the drivers' championship last year
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas believes Ferrari are "a bit ahead" of the world champions at the end of the first week of pre-season testing.

Ferrari have consistently set fast times over the four days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while Mercedes have taken longer to get up to speed.

Bottas said: "They do seem very strong. No matter which fuel loads or engine modes they're running, they are quick."


Renault's Nico Hulkenberg was fastest on the final day.

The German was split from team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in third by Toro Rosso's British-born Thai rookie Alexander Albon, with Bottas fourth.

There are four more days of testing next week before the first race of the season in Australia on 14-16 March.

• Day four recap
• Which is the best-looking car?

On Wednesday, Bottas' team-mate Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari were "very strong", adding: "It appears they have a better package than last year, which means it will be a bigger challenge for us."

The world champion and Bottas finally set some quick times on Thursday, and both posted a faster lap than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by lunchtime on the final day of the test. But they used softer tyres to do it - and the Ferrari's underlying pace appeared clear.

"I think we feel at this point they're going to be a bit ahead," said Bottas.

But Leclerc said he believed their rivals may be "sandbagging" - hiding their true pace - at this test.

"The performance has no sense for now because it remains testing," he said. "They are probably not pushing and we are not either. We don't know how much the others are sandbagging so we'll see at the first race."

Charles Leclerc swapped Sauber for Ferrari this season
Bottas, meanwhile, gave an insight into the personal battles he had faced over the winter in coming to terms with his 2018 season, in which he failed to win a race while Hamilton took 11 and the world championship.

He said: "It was a disappointing season and it kind of nearly made me angry with myself that in my six years in Formula 1 I haven't been achieving my target.

"Obviously, I have time yet, but I'm starting to realise you definitively only have one career, and I don't want to be in that situation again, that I feel like that and I start question myself if I could have done something better.

"I just want to make sure that this year I'll do everything I can to achieve those targets and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure I achieve those goals.

"I'm just mentally prepared for the whole year, but it all comes down to details in this sport.

"I just have to be the best that I can. I know what I can do if I perform at my best level - I'll be able to be matching and being ahead of Lewis in qualifying or race pace. I know I can do it and now it's just hard work to be up there more consistently.

"I didn't win a single race last year, and there is only one target for the whole season - the world championship, for me personally and for us as a team."

Get to know all the cars for the 2019 season

Renault on top
Hulkenberg set his fastest time on the softest tyres - which were used by all of the top four - before stopping out on track late in the day.

Bottas and Hamilton, in fifth on the second-softest tyres, appeared towards the top of the times for the first time all week, ahead of Leclerc and British rookie Lando Norris in the McLaren.

Williams, whose car only made it on to the track on Wednesday afternoon - midway through the third day of the test, concentrated on learning their car and drivers George Russell, another Briton making his debut this season, and Robert Kubica propped up the times.

The second and final four-day pre-season test begins on Tuesday 26 February and runs until 1 March.

Nico Hulkenberg came seventh in the drivers' championship last year, one place behind his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo
Fastest times, day four, first pre-season test, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:17.393 *****

2 Alexander Albon (Tha) Toro Rosso 1:17.637 *****

3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:17.785 *****

4 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:17.857 *****

5 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:17.977 ****

6 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:18.046 ***

7 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:18.431 ****

8 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo 1:18.511 ***

8 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:18.563 ****

9 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas 1:18.720 ***

10 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:18.780 ***

12 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:19.664 **

13 George Russell (GB) Williams 1:20.997 ***

14 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:21.542 **

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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F1 testing: Lando Norris of McLaren fastest on day one of final test

By Andrew Benson

19-year-old Norris is the youngest ever British F1 driver
British rookie Lando Norris set the fastest time in his McLaren on the first day of the final pre-season test.

The 19-year-old used the second softest tyres to pip Red Bull's Pierre Gasly by just 0.006secs before breaking down on track in Barcelona.

Gasly, using the middle of five compounds, was 0.109secs ahead of Lance Stroll's Racing Point.


Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was a further 0.101secs back while Lewis Hamilton was 12th fastest for Mercedes.

Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas stopped on track with a loss of oil pressure and Mercedes decided to change the engine. Bottas only made it out again for the final eight minutes of the session to set the 11th fastest time.

• F1 pre-season testing - day five: Mercedes hit trouble

Mercedes' upgrade was not a response to Ferrari's pace - F1 car parts take months to go from design to production to being fitted to the car.

But it did reflect the difficulty in drawing conclusions about competitiveness from pre-season testing times when development is constant and it is impossible to know in what specification the cars are running.

Mercedes said: "Part of the usual development race ahead of lights out in Oz. Going to need everything we've got. Those red cars look quick!"

At the first test, it was widely understood that the Ferrari was the fastest car, with little to choose between Mercedes and Red Bull a few tenths of a second behind.

There are three remaining days of testing this week, before the opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 14-16 March.

Fastest times, day one, final pre-season testing, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:17.709 ****

2 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:17.715 ***

3 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:17.824 ****

4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:17.925 ***

5 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo 1:18.589 seconds ****

6 Alexander Albon (Tha) Toro Rosso 1:18.649 ****

7 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:18.651 ***

8 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas 1:18.769 ****

9 George Russell (GB) Williams 1:19.662 *****

10 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:20.107 **

11 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:20.167 **

12 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:20.332 **

13 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:20.348 ***

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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Sebastian Vettel crashes Ferrari on day two of Barcelona test

By Andrew Benson

Vettel says his Ferrari "feels good" despite crashing early on in the session
Sebastian Vettel crashed his Ferrari on the second day of the final pre-season test in Barcelona, severely curtailing the team's running.

Vettel lost control after what the team described as "a mechanical problem" at the 150mph Turn Three and hit the barriers, causing extensive damage.

"From the feeling in the car it was an issue with the front-left corner," the German said.


McLaren's Carlos Sainz set the fastest time, from Racing Point's Sergio Perez.

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton were eighth and ninth fastest respectively.

Vettel, who was third fastest, said the team were having difficulty establishing what had caused the incident.

"It would be a lot easier if there was a lot of run-off and the car didn't hit anything right after because now it is fairly damaged because of the hit. So we have to be careful working out what happened," he said.

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• Vote results: The best-looking 2019 F1 car is...

The team managed to get the car out again only for a brief run with Vettel's team-mate Charles Leclerc at the wheel with seven minutes of the day remaining, a delay of nearly five hours.

It was the first major blip in what had until then been a promising pre-season period for Ferrari, who it is widely accepted have the fastest car in the field at this stage.

But Vettel said the team were positive despite the setback.

"Overall the car is strong, it feels good," he added. "We have been exploring a lot of things since day one and it has been very productive. Overall, I am still positive about the car and the feeling inside the car."

Sainz made it two days in a row for McLaren to top the times, after team-mate Lando Norris did so on Tuesday, with the fastest time of pre-season testing so far.

Fernando Alonso visited the McLaren garage during Tuesday's testing session
And it coincided with McLaren's announcement that their former driver, the two-time champion Fernando Alonso, was staying on board as a technical adviser and ambassador.

The Spaniard will test the McLaren this year to aid the development of this year's and next year's cars, and will be involved in an advisory capacity at many race weekends, whether at the track, or remotely, depending on his racing commitments elsewhere.

Alonso has a contract with Toyota in the World Endurance Championship until the Le Mans 24 Hours in June and is racing for McLaren in the Indianapolis 500 in May.

Sainz used the second-softest tyre compound to do his fastest lap, while Vettel was on the harder and slower middle compound as he went about a second slower.

Alonso said the team were content with progress with their new car so far, at the start of a season in which they want to show significant progress after a disappointing 2018.

"There are a couple of areas they need to revise and keep developing to improve performance, some others are surprisingly good," Alonso said. "Generally it has been a very positive two weeks. It is not perfect yet but the direction seems the right one."

Mercedes continue to operate under the radar in pre-season testing, but it is almost impossible to predict competitiveness accurately from these days in Barcelona because the teams do not reveal the specifications in which they are running their cars.

Fuel loads, tyres, settings and engine modes can all make significant differences to car performance.

There are two remaining days of testing this week, before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 14-16 March.

Fastest times, day two, final pre-season testing, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:17.144 ****

2 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:17.842 ****

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:18.195 ***

4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo 1:18.209 seconds ****

5 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:18.330 *****

6 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:18.395 ***

7 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso 1:18.682 ***

8 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:18.941 ***

9 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:18.943 ***

10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:19.056 ***

11 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:19.367 ****

12 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:22.597 *

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

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Ferrari's Leclerc impresses as Red Bull's Gasly crashes in testing

By Andrew Benson

Pierre Gasly spun into the barriers at Turn Nine
Charles Leclerc underlined Ferrari's impressive start to 2019 as Pierre Gasly crashed his Red Bull on the penultimate day of testing.

Leclerc set the fastest time of the winter by more than half a second before Gasly damaged the Red Bull at the high-speed Turn Nine, his second crash this winter.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas said he felt Ferrari were ahead of the field.


"They are looking very strong," the Finn said.

"We need to unlock more from the new package to be able to compete with them," the Finn said.

• F1 testing day seven - Ferrari's Leclerc fastest

Mercedes have been struggling to get their car to behave consistently so far in pre-season testing, but Bottas said they had made progress with the major aerodynamic upgrade that was introduced for this week's second and final test.

"From last week to this week, definitely we have been able to improve the overall balance of the car through the speed range, overall grip, downforce and stability," Bottas said. "But in all those areas we can still do better. It is not a perfect car yet."

Leclerc, who joins Ferrari in only his second season in Formula 1 after a stellar debut for the affiliated Sauber team in 2018, said he was happy with his team's progress after recording a time of one minute 16.231 seconds.

"The car feels comfortable from day one," he said. "The balance is pretty nice and it hasn't changed today. So it's a positive day.

"The car is solid. I feel pretty comfortable in it. There's still a lot to learn but it's a good start. It's good to be on top [of the times] but it doesn't mean anything."

Ferrari had endured a difficult time over the previous two days. Leclerc did much of his running on Tuesday with a problem with the cooling system, and the Monegasque was hit again on Wednesday when he lost all his time in the car after Sebastian Vettel crashed because of what Ferrari said was a wheel failure.

Leclerc ended his day by stopping on track because of an exhaust problem.

Charles Leclerc will partner Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for the new season
Pre-season testing times are notoriously unreliable indicators of form because it is impossible to know the specification in which teams are running their cars, while fuel loads, engine modes and other aspects can make a significant difference to performance.

Alexander Albon, the Britain-born Thai driver, was second fastest in his Toro Rosso, ahead of McLaren's British rookie Lando Norris and Gasly.

It was the Frenchman's second significant crash of pre-season, after a previous incident last week in which he lost control at Turn 12.

This time, he brought his pre-season to a close when he lost control at the demanding uphill Turn Nine, the fastest corner on the track. Gasly spun and smashed into the barriers, badly damaging the car.

World champion Lewis Hamilton set the 10th fastest time - an impressive 1:18.097 on the second hardest tyre, while nearly everyone else set their best laps on the softest rubber.

There is one remaining day of testing this week, before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 14-16 March.

Fastest times, day three, final pre-season testing, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:16.231 *****

2 Alexander Albon (Tha) Toro Rosso 1:16.882 *****

3 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:17.084 *****

4 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:17.091 *****

5 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:17.204 *****

6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:17.496 *****

7 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:17.556 *****

8 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo 1:17.639 *****

9 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:17.854 ****

10 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:18.097 **

11 George Russell (GB) Williams 1:18.130 *****

12 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas 1:18.199 ***

13 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:18.862 ***

Key: * = C1 tyre (hardest); ** = C2 (second hardest); *** = C3 (middle); C4 **** = (second softest); ***** = C5 (softest)

Swami

 

[Swami]

Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes driver braced for 'toughest battle yet'

By Andrew Benson

Hamilton won his fifth World Championship in 2018
Lewis Hamilton says he is braced for his "toughest battle yet" after conceding Ferrari have had the best car in pre-season testing.

The five-time world champion believes his Mercedes team's deficit to Ferrari is "potentially half a second".

However, Hamilton ended the final test day just 0.003 seconds slower than Sebastian Vettel's pace-setting time.


"Last year there were many occasions we as a team were behind on performance and had to achieve," Hamilton added.

"We were not behind anywhere near as much last year."

Ferrari have been consistently quick during two weeks of testing in Spain and their car has proved easy to drive and fast in all conditions.

The Mercedes, by contrast, has been difficult to balance and prone to tyre problems.

Hamilton, who was helped on his way to the title last year by a series of mistakes by Ferrari and their lead driver Sebastian Vettel, said: "Last year they arrived with a car working well but they have done even better this year.

"It's OK. We don't mind the challenge, it just means we have to work harder. I'm not worried or disappointed or anything. We have a hill to climb but we know how to do it."

Vettel says his Ferrari "feels good" despite problems during this week's testing sessions
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: "I'm happy to know Hamilton believes we are faster and very strong but I believe Mercedes will be very strong in Australia and it would be completely wrong to think we are faster than them. I am not expecting them to be behind us. I think they will be very, very close."

Vettel ended pre-season with the fastest time, and Hamilton's late surge moved him ahead of the German's team-mate, Charles Leclerc, who was just 0.01secs slower than Vettel.

However, Ferrari's final test has been troubled by recurring reliability problems.

Leclerc lost time to a cooling system problem on the first day, Vettel crashed on the second day because of a wheel-rim failure, which also cost Leclerc running.

And on Friday Vettel had to abandon a race-simulation run in the afternoon when his car broke down on track with an electrical problem that forced them to abandon the rest of the test.

Red Bull also hit trouble on the final day of the test. After Pierre Gasly crashed the car at high speed on Thursday, the team were half an hour late getting the repaired car out on track on Friday, with Max Verstappen at the wheel.

The Dutchman then lost time with a gearbox problem in the afternoon and ended the day 11th fastest, although Red Bull did not run the two fastest tyre compounds.

Fastest times, day four, final pre-season testing, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari) one minute 16.221 seconds

2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:16.224

3 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 1:16.561

4 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:16.843

5 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso 1:16.898

6 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:16.913

7 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas 1:17.076s

8 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:17.114

9 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo 1:17.239

10 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas 1:17.565

11 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:17.709

12 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:17.791

13 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:18.993

All times set on fastest tyre except Verstappen, who was on the middle tyre of five.

Swami

 

[Swami]

Ferrari fastest, Mercedes 'not perfect', Verstappen 'optimistic' - F1 testing analysis

By Andrew Benson

Sebastian Vettel won four drivers' titles in a row from 2010-2013
Ferrari left Barcelona on Friday having proved they had the fastest car over two weeks of pre-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton said it. His Mercedes team said it. Red Bull's Pierre Gasly said it. And the numbers said it, pretty much however you looked at them.

Hamilton might have said that performance in testing should be taken "with a pinch of salt". But he also said that he thought the gap between his Mercedes team and Ferrari was "potentially half a second, something like that".


That sounds a lot, in the context of Mercedes winning the past five world titles, but it's certainly the way it looked.

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The lap times
Let's get the caveats out of the way. Everyone who knows anything about Formula 1 knows that pre-season testing times are an unreliable guide to actual performance.

There are just too many variables - such as fuel loads, engine modes and track conditions - to be able to compare lap times across teams and be confident of having an accurate picture.

On the list of the fastest lap times for each team throughout winter testing, Ferrari and Mercedes look closely matched:

Team (Driver) Fastest lap time
Ferrari (Vettel) 1:16.221
Mercedes (Hamilton) 1:16.224
Renault (Hulkenberg) 1:16.843
Toro Rosso (Albon) 1:16.882
McLaren (Sainz) 1:16.913
Haas (Grosjean) 1:17.076
Red Bull (Gasly) 1:17.091
Alfa Romeo (Raikkonen) 1:17.239
Racing Point (Stroll) 1:17.556
Williams (Russell) 1:18.130
But as you dig deeper, the gap extends.

To try to eliminate some of the margin of error in this, we can look at when the lap time was set on a particular run of laps, and calculate the minimum amount of fuel the car must have had on board. It still might have had more in it, but it's a start.

In addition, allowing for the differences between the five tyre compounds available - which vary from team to team but are in the region of 0.4-0.7secs per compound depending on the tyre - not everyone's fastest lap was their headline lap time.

What you might call the fuel-and-tyre-corrected list looks like this:

Team Time
Ferrari one minute 15.720 seconds
Mercedes +0.504
Red Bull +0.871
Haas +0.921
Toro Rosso +1.038
Renault +1.123
McLaren +1.195
Alfa +1.395
Racing Point +1.836
Williams +2.41
Now we can see more where Hamilton's 0.5-second margin comes from.

And the same applies when looking at race pace. This is the best way to judge pre-season performance because it's the running in which the cars are likely to be in the most-similar specification.

There is still a little room for variability - especially on how hard the teams are running the engines, and a small degree of fuel load - but it is much reduced. And as conditions vary from day to day, it's hard to compare runs that don't happen contemporaneously.

But, as it happens, Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc did race simulations at more or less the same time as each other on Thursday, and the Ferrari was demonstrably quicker - by 0.334secs a lap on average.

Taking the stints one by one, Leclerc was quicker by 0.491secs, 0.577secs and 0.118secs.

By the end of the 'race', Leclerc would have beaten Bottas by about 20 seconds.

Those race runs were not directly comparable, because Bottas did his first stint on the medium-compound C3 tyre, before switching to the harder C2s for his final two stints, while Leclerc used C2s throughout.

But, interestingly, Vettel did a race simulation on Friday, and like Bottas he used the C3s in the first stint. His times on the two stints he did before stopping with an electrical failure were almost identical to Leclerc's.

The differences between the two cars

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has won four of the past five drivers' championships
It would be unwise to draw too many firm conclusions from these times. Even if the performance seen is accurate, there is time for both teams to improve before the first race. And as one senior figure said: "Ferrari were quicker all last winter and then Mercedes went to Melbourne and blew them away."

But there is a potentially important difference between last year and this.

In 2018, although Ferrari topped the list of fastest times, Mercedes had done quicker race simulations, which is not the case this year.

On top of that, the Ferrari seems to be an easier car to work with and to drive than the Mercedes.

All test, Vettel and Leclerc were saying how well balanced the car was. It was quick right from the off, and remained so throughout the two weeks.

The Mercedes drivers, by contrast, were relatively struggling with their car. A dramatic aerodynamic upgrade for the second week improved it, but it was still not behaving as they wanted.

"From last week to this week," Bottas said, "definitely we have been able to improve the overall balance of the car through the speed range, overall grip, downforce and stability. But in all those areas we can still do better. It is not a perfect car yet."

It was also struggling with tyre usage. One of the reasons the Mercedes race simulations were slower than Ferrari's was that they were suffering more from 'graining' - where the surface tears, reducing grip.

Hamilton's conclusion was this: "Last year they arrived with a car working well but they have done even better this year. It's OK. We don't mind the challenge, it just means we have to work harder. I'm not worried or disappointed or anything. We have a hill to climb but we know how to do it."

But Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto smelt a rat.

"I'm happy to know Hamilton believes we are faster and very strong," he said, "but I believe Mercedes will be very strong in Australia and it would be completely wrong to think we are faster than them. I am not expecting them to be behind us. I think they will be very, very close."

Are Mercedes likely to be as much as 0.5secs off Ferrari in Melbourne? Most would say not, given their strength. But the team themselves reckon the margin is somewhere in the region of 0.2-0.5secs, so it's intriguingly poised as the final preparations begin for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from 15-17 March.

What about Red Bull?
Red Bull hoped their switch to Honda engines for this season would give them a step forward in 2019. They were not expecting to be title contenders, but they did believe they would be closer to the front.

Their testing performance is harder to read because they did not do any low-fuel, soft-tyre laps at all, and they did not complete any of their race simulations.

But Mercedes believe they and Red Bull are quite closely matched, and Max Verstappen sounded confident after completing his running.

"If we look to the longer runs, it looks all pretty promising," the Dutchman said. "I think we have a pretty good package. And also the engine seems to work really well. So I'm really happy about that.

"(Mercedes and Ferrari) are always going to be quick. I don't know where we will be but looking at the long-run pace, I'm optimistic."

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What about the midfield?
The general belief was that the gap between the midfield teams and the front had reduced a little.

The times back this up. From being 1.5secs off the pace last year, the apparently quickest midfield team in testing - US-based Haas - were just under a second off this winter. And Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren were all within just over 0.2secs of them.

Taking them individually, Haas had the fourth-fastest car last year, so there is no surprise they seem to be up there again, especially considering their close links with Ferrari, from whom they buy much of their car off the shelf.

Renault, after a low-key test achieving their primary aim of racking up lots of mileage, finally did some quick times on the final day. They look to have achieved their aim of moving closer to the front three teams, but will be looking for more once the season gets going.

Alexander Albon was one of a number of rookies who impressed during testing
Toro Rosso might seem to be surprisingly high up, given they finished ninth last season, but their car was genuinely quick on occasion last year, and this year they have gone down the Haas route and are buying as many parts as they can from parent team Red Bull.

That means the 2019 Toro Rosso is not far from being a 2018 Red Bull with a few changes for the new aerodynamic regulations. So, again, they ought to make a step forward. On the driver front, London-born Thai Alexander Albon made a strong impression and appears if anything to have been slightly quicker than his more experienced team-mate Daniil Kvyat.

McLaren, after a torrid 2018, had a much better winter and appear to have made progress.

The caveat to that is that Barcelona was one of their stronger circuits over the past two seasons - Fernando Alonso qualified seventh and eighth in 2017 and 2018 - so it is understandable that their main aim this winter has been to keep expectations in check, despite their improved performance and reliability compared to last winter.

Like Albon, British rookie Lando Norris showed strongly in testing, and was close to team-mate Carlos Sainz in pace.

"Some of the areas where we had quite a big weakness we've strengthened," Norris said. "I'm not saying it's perfect. But overall I think we have a better package to start the season with.

"There are still problems and things we suffer with. But I think we understand them and when we do change things the car is being affected in a positive way whereas last year we struggled a bit more to move forward."

Williams started testing two and a half days after the other teams and looked off the pace
Alfa Romeo - formerly Sauber - may look to have slipped back from the times but they are well within the margin of error for fuel loads, etc.

And Racing Point, formerly Force India, while looking slow, said from the outset that they were running a very basic car in testing and would have a major upgrade for the first race.

That leaves Williams, where the news does not look great at all. George Russell, the Formula 2 champion and another British rookie, set their quickest time, but he was under no illusions about where the team stood.

"I'd be lying if I said we were not the slowest at the moment," he said. "That is a reality."

Williams started testing two and a half days late and while they made up much of their mileage, Russell admitted: "We were a big step behind everybody else."

Williams say they have achieved some of their aims, in that the car lacks the handling vices of its predecessor and seems to respond to changes, which the 2018 car did not. Even so, it could be a long season for them.

Swami