The first Formula 1 pre-season test is over and we have been 💛provided a first impression of how the 10 teams are farin🍬g. 

With 24 hours of testing under the teams’ and drivers’ belts throughout the opening three days of running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Cat🧸alunya, attention will now turn to next week’𝐆s second test at the Spanish Grand Prix venue. 

While testing timesheets have to be taken with a pinch of salt due to the high number of unknown variables to consider including what fuel loads each team is running at any given tim𓂃e, some early indications can be formed of how each team is looking at the half-way mark of their winter programmes. 

Strong starters

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mercedes were quick out of the blocks right from the off in Barcelona as the Silver Arrows dominated th🦂e opening day of running with Lewis Hamilton leading a 1-2 at the end of day one ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottaꦑs. 

The reigning world champions made headlines once again on Thursday, although not because it was setting any fast times. In fact, much like recent years, both Hamilton and Bottas focused on long-run programmes and stayed relatively low in the timesheets. Attentions were instead drawn to a 168澳洲幸运5官方开💟奖结果历史:new dual-axis steering system inno🍒vation that debuted on Hamilton’s W11 on t🐼he morning of the secon♊d day. 

A near-perfect start to testing was dampened slightly by the first signs of some reliability gremlins when Bottas’ afternoon run plan was prematurely ended after he suffered an electrical issue on his car with more than an hour left on the clock, but the problem was quickly fixed and the Finn returned to action on Friday morning and 168澳洲幸运ﷺ5官方开奖结果历史:blitzed to a♚ new fastest lap of testing. 

As well as setting the benchmark in terms of lap tim🍒es, Mercedes had also led the way in the mileage charts, rac🎶king up an impressive 494 laps in total so far.

Red Bull also enjoyed a strong first test, with little sign of any major reliabilit♌y setbacks aside from some minor niggles including a seat-fit issue for Ale🔯xander Albon. 

While neither Albon nor Max Verstappen have ventured too close to the top of the timesheets with Red Bull appearing to be keeping its cards close to its chest, both drivers seem extremely happy wit꧋h the early signs coming from its RB16 package. 

Verstappen described Red Bull’s latest challenger as 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:“fast everywhere”, while Honda appears to have met expecta🐈tions in terms of power. All the vibes coming out of the Red Bull camp have been overwhelmingly positive, with the🐬 Milton Keynes squad completing the second-most laps, just shy of Mercedes.

Racing Point raised some eyeb💯rows at its pre-season launch evenꦬt when team principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer stated the team was targeting fourth place and podiums in 2020, but its performance across the first three days of running in Barcelona has been impressive. 

For its latest car concept, the team has taken a “risky” attempt to replicate the aerodynamic philosophy pioneered by Mercedes last year, with its RP20 closely resembling the design of the reigning world champion’s 2019 W10 car when it broke cover on Wednesday. Both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll have posted some eye-catching times throughout the opening test and backed it up with a strong reliabl🍎e showing. 

After its disastrous 2019 campaign which began by missing the opening two-and-a-half days of testing, Williams has made a very𒊎 encouraging start to its 2020 campaign, leaving dep𒀰uty team principal Claire Williams with a smile on her face. 

The picture compared with 12 months ago could not be more differen♏t for the British squad, which logged 136 laps on the first day of running alone. It continued a solid haul of running throughout the remainder of the first test, with an engine issue on Nicholas Latifi’s car on the final afternoon proving the only real negative. The team’s best laptime, a 1m18.168s set by George Russell on day one, was over a second faster than his qualifying effort for the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix. 

On the back foot? 

One team in need of a strong pre-season after a frustrating 2019 campaign was Haas, but the Am൲erican squad has shown little signs o𝓰f big improvements so far, at least. 

Its💦 2020 V💫F-20 challenger looks a stable, if not spectacular car, though it will hopefully prove to be more consistent than its predecessor. Haas’ first test was somewhat underwhelming as both drivers remained towards the bottom end of the timesheets, while some reliability niggles and driver mistakes proved frustrating. 

The team was forced to end its running early on Friday afternoon after Kevin Magnussen spun into the barriers on his fourth lap after suffering a puncture caused by a wheel issue. Im𒊎provements are needed heading into week two. 

Midfield rivals Alfa Romeo have been equally hard to judge, particularly when its low-key start to testing was muddied by a late glory run by Kimi Raikkonen that put him to the top of the timings on Thursday, before his C39 conked out having run out of fuel. Antonio Giovinazzi turned in a strong triple-figure lap haul on the finaꦉl day to significantly boost its mileage but the Swiss outfit seems to be in a similar position to last year. 

Renault is aiming to💧 improve on a disappointing 20🐻19 season as it looks to reclaim fourth spot in the constructors’ championship. Despite setting some relatively fast times on paper, the French manufacturer had lagged behind its rivals in the mileage charts until the final day, which was hampered by a stoppage for Daniel Ricciardo in the afternoon.

It made some curiously slow starts to its sessions on Thursday and missed around 45 minutes on each occasion, but the team insisted it was all part of its run plan. Unlike the positive noises coming out of Enstone at 🐲the start of 2019, the French manufacturer has taken a much more grounded approach to 2020 - is that a sig▨n of Renault being quietly confident or concerned? 

Unknown quantities 

Ferrari remains the biggest question mark heading into the second pre-season test at Barcelona after being yet to show its hand.💯 The Scuderia has taken a different approach to its 2020 programme after dominating the timesheets in recent years, with correlation between the factory and on-track data and full understanding of its new SF1000 challenger proving the key focus. 

It is understood that Ferrari has been running in low power modes and high fuel throughout t🍷he opening test, highlighting why its driverꦅs have languished towards the bottom of the order each day. 

Its mileage count has not been particularly impressive and Sebastian Vettel suffered a blow to his already disrupted pre-season on Friday when his 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:engine packed in and cost him all-important track tim🌜e in the morning session. 

Team principal Mattia Binotto has already downplayed Ferrari’s chances at the start of the season, admitting it is currently168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: lagging behind Mercedes after the first test.

Another team yet to provide a glimpse of its one-lap potential is McLaren, with the Woking team quietly going about its business so far and logging plenty of laps in the process as it looks to build on its best season of 💖the V6 hybrid era to date last year. 

Similarly, the rebranded AlphaTauri outfit has not grabbed any headlines but teased some fast laps and stands in the middle of the pack in terms of mileage after 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:some very bold pre-season talk from team principal Franz Tost. 

Pre-season Test 1 - Most laps completed:

Mercedes: 494
Red Bull: 471
Alfa Romeo: 424
McLaren: 423
AlphaTauri: 384
Renault: 380
Racing Point: 371
Ferrari: 354
Williams: 324
Haas: 316

Pre-season Test 1 - Fastest laps set by each team:

Mercedes 1m15.732 (C5)
Alfa Romeo 1m17.091 (C5)
Renault 1m17.102 (C4)
Racing Point 1m17.338 (C4)
AlphaTauri 1m17.427 (C4)
Red Bull 1m17.516 (C3)
McLaren 1m17.842 (C3)
Ferrari 1m18.154 (C4)
Williams 1m18.168 (C3)
Haas 1m18.380 (C3)