Whilst Ferrari and Sauber may have topped the times during the opening pre-season test in Jerez last week, speed trap data shows they might not have closed the gap to Mercedes just yet.
Ferrari power topped all four days thanks to Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Nasr, but that’s certainly not the whole story as rivals focused on reliability rather than outright lap time.
That becomes clearer when the speed trap data is analysed. Mercedes-powered cars were clearly fastest, securing the top three places.
Felipe Massa in the Williams and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg both passed the detection point at 307.6 km/h, some 4.3 km/h quicker than the nearest Ferrari, whilst Raikkonen’s speed was almost 7 km/h down.
Renault meanwhile were also down on the Mercedes. Red Bull’s Daniel Kvyat was some way back, though Red Bull’s test didn’t go quite to plan which may explain the disparity to sister team Toro Rosso.
Honda’s Jenson Button recorded a speed of 277.6 km/h. Though Honda admitted their engine wasn’t being run at full capacity which is understandable given it’s their first on-track test.
Jerez – Speed Trap (km/h):
| # | Driver | Team | Engine | km/h |
| 01. | F. Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 307.6 |
| 02. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 307.6 |
| 03. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | Mercedes | 306.8 |
| 04. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | Renault | 303.3 |
| 05. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | Ferrari | 303.3 |
| 06. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 300.8 |
| 07. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | Renault | 294.2 |
| 08. | J. Button | McLaren | Honda | 277.6 |
– data obtained by Autosport
