Vettel tops first morning, Red Bull limited to four laps

Published on 27 February 2017 by Stefan Meens

Sebastian Vettel topped the leader boards after the first morning test session of 2017. The Ferrari driver lapped the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in a 1:22.781 on the soft Pirellis compound. Valtteri Bottas was the most productive driver of the morning. He completed 79 laps for his new team, Mercedes, without issues.

Red Bull Racing had a tough start to their first pre-season test. After four laps, Daniel Ricciardo was forced to return to the pits without his RB13. A sensor issue stopped the car, prompting the team to remove the gearbox. It meant the Australian would not take further part in the morning session.

Max Verstappen, who will drive the Red Bull on Tuesday, explained from the pits: “In testing it’s not about lap times. The goal is to drive as much as possible to get to know the car and to get a good feeling with it. It’s a completely new car and we haven’t driven in three months. So for us as drivers, we’ll have to build up the speed gradually.”

Pre-Season Test 1 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Monday 27 February 2017

RESULTS DAY 1 - MORNING SESSION

 1  S. Vettel       Ferrari      1:22.791  62  
 2  V. Bottas       Mercedes     1:23.169  79 
 3  S. Pérez        Force India  1:23.709  39 
 4  F. Massa        Williams     1:25.552  39 
 5  C. Sainz        Toro Rosso   1:25.562  18 
 6  N. Hülkenberg   Renault      1:26.319  22 
 7  K. Magnussen    Haas         1:26.404  15 
 8  M. Ericsson     Sauber       1:26.865  32 
 9  D. Ricciardo    Red Bull     1:28.712   4 
10  F. Alonso       McLaren                 1