A late run on soft tyres ensured that Lotus and Pastor Maldonado stole the headlines after the first day of the second winter test session.
But realistically it was yet another strong day for both Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen who once again completed a lot of laps and some solid times.
As a comparison to show the development of the new cars, both Kimi’s Ferrari and Maldonado’s Mercedes powered Lotus set times that would have been quick enough to take pole position at last years Spanish Grand Prix.
?It is always good to see your name at the top of the timing monitors and my fastest lap was just in the course of our normal programme for the day,? said the Venezuelan to formula1.com.
?It feels good to drive the E23 in Barcelona. The car responded well to the changes we made and we were able to complete a good number of laps. The team has made strong progress since Jerez and we have a great starting point for the rest of the week.?
It wasn’t a great day for British duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Double F1 World title holder Lewis Hamilton had to withdraw from testing after just 11 laps due to illness, handing over his Mercedes to Pascal Wehrlein who had been driving for Force India.
Whilst Button’s McLaren Honda issues continued as after 21 laps a faulty seal on the MGU-K part of his Honda power unit caused McLaren to end the day early.
?We?ll need to run a re-designed component to avoid a potential repeat of the problem, Unfortunately, we won?t be in possession of that updated part until Saturday, which means that we may face the same problem when we run again [Friday]. said Honda?s chief motorsport officer Yasuhisa Arai.
?Such issues are all part of testing, but we?ll make the best changes we can overnight, and will plan for a productive day of running – with Fernando [Alonso] behind the wheel.?
Unofficial Thursday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 25.011s
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 25.167s
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 25.547s
4. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 26.636s
5. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 27.307s
6. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 27.900s
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 28.182s
8. Pascal Wehrlein, Force India, 1m 28.329s
9. Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes, 1m 28.489s
10. Susie Wolff, Williams, 1m 28.906s
11. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 30.429s
Maldonado tops first day in Barcelona
