Current world champion Sebastian Vettel ended the first days testing quickest in the newly unveiled RB7.
The German set a 1:13.769 to take the top spot whilst Nico Hulkenberg was second quickest in the 2010 Force India. The former Williams driver managed to outpace Paul di Resta by almost half a second. The Scot finished fourth, just behind McLaren’s Gary Paffett.
Fernando Alonso was the second quickest of the new cars in the new F150, finishing just ahead of Kamui Kobayashi in the Ferrari powered C30.
Among the other 2011 challengers was Vitaly Petrov with a time of 1:16.351, ahead of Michael Schumacher, Jaime Alguersuari, Rubens Barrichello and his team-mate, Nico Rosberg – whom suffered a hydraulic leak after just 9 laps.
Test times from day one:
| Pos. | Chassis | Team | Yr | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 2011 | 1:13.769 | 93 |
| 02. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 2010 | 1:13.938 | 71 |
| 03. | G. Paffett | McLaren | 2010 | 1:14.292 | 91 |
| 04. | P. di Resta | Force India | 2010 | 1:14.461 | 28 |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 2011 | 1:14.553 | 97 |
| 06. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 2011 | 1:15.621 | 68 |
| 07. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 2010 | 1:16.003 | 71 |
| 08. | V. Petrov | Renault | 2011 | 1:16.351 | 28 |
| 09. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 2011 | 1:16.450 | 15 |
| 10. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 2011 | 1:17.214 | 19 |
| 11. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 2011 | 1:17.335 | 77 |
| 12. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 2010 | 1:18.020 | 45 |
| 13. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 2011 | 1:19.930 | 9 |
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