MERCEDES AMG WITH FASTEST TIME AT CATALUNYA

Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton went quickest on the final day of the first pre-season test ahead of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 campaign, beating Stoffel Vandoorne by half a second.

After a wet morning during which Mercedes’ W09 challenger was driven by Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton took over in the afternoon and used medium tyres to post a time of 1:19.333. That 0.521s clear of Vandoorne’s best which had been set on Pirelli’s new hypersoft tyres, one of seven dry compounds of offer this year. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third quickest with a time of 1:20.214 set on soft tyres, while Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was eight hundredths of a second further back in fourth place with a lap set on supersoft tyres.

While most drivers took the circuit in the wet conditions in the morning, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was a notable absentee, with the Renault-powered team choosing to wait until the track dried before sending the Dutchman out. But when he did take to the track Verstappen’s outing was a stop-start affair as mechanical gremlins affected his progress and then, later on, he suffered an off at Turn 12 which left him beached in the gravel. The car was recovered but Verstappen sat out the remainder of the session and completed just 35 laps all day.

After limited mileage in the early part of the week, McLaren enjoyed a solid final day in Barcelona. Second-placed Vandoorne handed over to team-mate Fernando Alonso in the afternoon and the Spaniard added a further 51 laps to Vandoorne’s 110 for the day’s biggest team lap total. However, the individual honours went to Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, with the French driver posting a total of 147 laps to round out a enviably reliable test for the Honda-powered team.

F1 teams now have a four-day break from track action before the final pre-season test starts at the same venue on Tuesday.

FOURTH TEST DAY, RESULTS

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:19.333	/ (Me, 69)
2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:19.854	+ 0.521 (HS,110)
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:20.241	+ 0.908 (S,120)
4	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:20.317	+ 0.984 (SS,96)
5	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:20.929	+ 1.596 (SS,51)
6	Carlos Sainz JR.	Renault	1:20.940	+ 1.607 (Me,60)
7	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:21.142	+ 1.809 (S,54)
8	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:21.973	+ 2.640 (S,65)
9	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:22.058	+ 2.725 (S,35)
10	Pierre Gasly	Торо Росо	1:22.134	+ 2.801 (SS,147)
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:22.507	+ 3.174 (S,49)
12	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:22.789	+ 3.456 (Me,60)
13	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:22.808	+ 3.475 (S,59)
14	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:23.825	+ 4.492 (SS,79)
15	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:31.979	+ 12.646 (I,47)

HS - HyperSoft US - UltraSoft SS - SuperSoft
S - Soft Ме - Medium
H - Hard SH - SuperHard
I - Intermedia

SUMMARY RESULTS FROM LAST YEAR TEST SESSION

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:19.705	/ (US)
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:19.952	+ 0.247 (S)
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:20.872	+ 1.167 (S)
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:20.983	+ 1.278 (SS)
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:21.153	+ 1.448 (S)
6	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:21.369	+ 1.664 (S)
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:21.769	+ 2.064 (S)
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:21.791	+ 2.086 (S)
9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:21.824	+ 2.119 (SS)
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:22.076	+ 2.371 (Me)
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:22.118	+ 2.415 (SS)
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:22.204	+ 2.499 (SS)
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:22.351	+ 2.646 (S)
14	Antonio Giovinacci	Sauber	1:22.401	+ 2.696 (US)
15	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:22.509	+ 2.804 (SS)
16	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:22.534	+ 2.829 (SS)
17	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:22.576	+ 2.871 (US)
18	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:22.598	+ 2.893 (US)
19	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:22.956	+ 3.251 (S)
20	Carlos Sainz JR.	Toro Rosso	1:23.540	+ 3.835 (Ме)
21	Alfonso Celis	Force India	1:23.568	+ 3.863 (SS)

US - UltraSoft SS - SuperSoft S - Soft Me - Medium