Bottas heads Mercedes 1-2 as first test concludes

Valtteri Bottas led a Mercedes 1-2 as the manufacturer dominated the final day of Formula 1’s opening test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday.

Bottas clocked a rapid time of 1:15.732s during the morning session, using Pirelli’s C5 tyres, to draw within three-tenths of the ultimate track record.

Lewis Hamilton took over the W11 for the afternoon session and was unable to dislodge Bottas, despite a couple of attempts on the C4 and C5 tyres.

Hamilton was within two-tenths after the second sector but a messy approach to the chicane cost him time and he wound up 0.784s down on his team-mate.

It is understood that the innovative DAS was run on the W11 today but that it was not in operation during the respective fastest laps.

Renault had a mixed day as Esteban Ocon finished best of the rest, taking third overall, but Daniel Ricciardo stopped on track approaching Turn 9 in the afternoon session due to a suspected engine issue.

However, he returned to action later in the day, rising to seventh.

Lance Stroll maintained Racing Point’s encouraging first week as he classified fourth, in front of AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.

Red Bull split duties between Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon; Verstappen classified eighth, with Albon 10th, split by ex-Red Bull racer Pierre Gasly for AlphaTauri.

McLaren was another team to divide its running on Friday; Carlos Sainz Jr. took 11 with Lando Norris 14th.

Ferrari had another subdued display on a week in which it has shied away from setting pace-setting times.

Sebastian Vettel stopped on track during the morning session after Ferrari detected an engine glitch and deemed that a power unit change was necessary.

Vettel finished the day in 13th place, 2.6s behind Bottas, as team boss Mattia Binotto accepted that the squad is playing catch-up compared to its rivals.

Haas endured a disrupted day as a suspected right-rear puncture robbed Kevin Magnussen of running just four laps into the afternoon session.

Magnussen suffered a suspected right-rear puncture as he rounded Turn 7 and spun to the outside, making light contact with the wall.

Williams was another team to suffer a couple of setbacks on Friday’s running.

A sensor problem delayed Nicholas Latifi’s programme and it was interrupted when an engine issue was detected, requiring a change over the lunch break that kept him out of action until the final hour.

Formula 1’s second test will begin on Wednesday at 09:00.