Strong Start As Silver Arrows Rack Up The Mileage On Day 1 in Barcelona Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Media
- Valtteri emerged for his first run as the track opened at 09:00, completing 79 laps before the hour-long lunch break at 13:00
- Lewis took over in the cockpit for the afternoon session, completing 73 laps before the pit lane closed at 18:00
- Today’s program focused on aerodynamic and vibration data analysis, followed by long runs to better understand the performance of the 2017 Pirelli tyres, with both drivers completing similar programs.
- Mercedes-Benz Power Units today completed a total of 1,369km.
- Lewis will take the wheel of the W08 tomorrow morning, with Valtteri behind the wheel in the afternoon on the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport kicked off the first pre-season test of the 2017 season today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton taking turns at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+
Date: Monday 27 February 2017
Driver(s): Valtteri Bottas (AM), Lewis Hamilton (PM)
Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Circuit Length: 4.655 km
Laps Completed: Valtteri 79, Lewis 73, Total 152
Distance Covered: Valtteri 368km, Lewis 340km, Total 708 km
Best Lap Time: Valtteri 1:23.169, Lewis 1:21.765
Weather Conditions: Clear, dry, mild
Strong Start As Silver Arrows Rack Up The Mileage On Day 1 in Barcelona Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Media
Valtteri Bottas:
It was a very good first morning for us. We were doing quite a lot of mechanical tests, checking systems, while trying to do mileage. We did 79 laps, more than a race distance, which is very good for the first morning of running. If we are going to face any issues with the car I hope we can face them now. That’s why we did more than a race this morning. That was our target.
We worked on long-runs, trying to gain all the information we could from these conditions. We didn’t really care at all about lap times today. As a team we still have many more important days ahead of us. The main thing to do is to get the mileage in and the car had no issues. The guys have done an amazing job over the winter. I only started just over a month ago, but the way the car has been running is impressive. It’s a good feeling.
I did a few laps at Silverstone, but now this is proper testing. It was very special to do the first few laps. This is a new era for Formula 1. The car feels very different to last year. You can definitely feel the impact of the new regulations – the increased loads, the bigger, heavier cars, and more grip. I think they look great. They’re great fun to drive and they’re fast in the corners too. Racing is still unknown, but so far so good. Physically the cars feel more demanding, but luckily I am well prepared for the season ahead.
Strong Start As Silver Arrows Rack Up The Mileage On Day 1 in Barcelona Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Media
Lewis Hamilton:
It’s been a good day, a really positive day for the team. The car looks fantastic and it feels great. We did lots of laps and collected loads of information today, so we can try to improve the car as we move forward. We’ve not done any work to get the balance perfect yet, as today was all about ticking off the list of checkpoints and racking up mileage.
I definitely put my body to the test today. These test days are like training. It was good to feel the wider, beefier car. It’s faster, more physical… it’s a beast! You’ve got to drive it a bit differently. It’s so much better than last year’s cars. The G-Forces are definitely higher. We’re pulling two more G than we’d usually pull around here. There’s so much more downforce, which is something you always want as a driver. You always want to go faster through the corners.
The tires are so hard that they don’t drop off. Most likely we’l l be doing more one-stoppers. Normally you get a lot of degradation with these tires – but these ones don’t degrade. They’re very consistent, and there’s not a big difference between the feeling on the first lap and the last lap.
Over the next few days we’ll start to look to improve the car. I still think we’re the team to beat – but we have a lot of work ahead of us to do, the same as every single team on the grid. Right now we’re just focusing on our own job to do the very best that we can.
Position Driver Team Laps Completed Best Lap Time
01 Lewis Hamilton (44) Mercedes 73 1:21.765
02 Sebastian Vettel (5) Ferrari 128 1:21.878
03 Felipe Massa (19) Williams 103 1:22.076
04 Kevin Magnussen (20) Haas 51 1:22.894
05 Daniel Ricciardo (3) Red Bull 50 1:22.926
06 Valtteri Bottas (77) Mercedes 79 1:23.169
07 Sergio Perez (11) Force India 39 1:23.709
08 Carlos Sainz (55) Toro Rosso 51 1:24.494
09 Nico Hülkenberg (27) Renault 57 1:24.784
10 Fernando Alonso (14) McLaren 29 1:24.852
11 Marcus Ericsson (9) Sauber 72 1:26.841