Lotus took home the fastest time during Day 1 of testing in Barcelona thanks to a late soft-tire run by Pastor Maldonado, beating out Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
The Venezuelan clocked in at 1:25.011s in the Mercedes-powered Lotus E23 Hybrid, 0.156 seconds ahead of the Finn – on what turned out to be another solid showing by Ferrari.
Interestingly enough, both Maldonado and Raikkonen lapped the Catalunya track faster than Lewis Hamilton did last season when he claimed pole position during qualifying.
RedBull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished 3rd fastest with Force India’s Sergio Perez 4th and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr 5th quickest.
Nasr collided with Williams’ Susie Wolf late in the afternoon, but not before giving Sauber fans enough reasons to be excited about their pace and their chances for the upcoming F1 season.
Reigning champ Lewis Hamilton wasn’t feeling well as he put a stop to his day soon after getting on the track (only 11 laps completed), while McLaren-Honda had another disastrous showing as Jenson Button got sidelined thanks to a faulty seal on the MGU-K part of his Honda power unit.
Force India’s Pascal Wehrlein got behind the wheel of Lewis’ Mercedes after the champ called it a day – which is why you see his name next to both teams. Nico Rosberg was unavailable due to pain from a trapped nerve in his neck.
Unofficial Day 1 times from Barcelona
1. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:25.011s, 69 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:25.167s, 74 laps
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:25.547s, 59 laps
4. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:26.636s, 34 laps
5. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:27.307s, 79 laps
6. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:27.900s, 94 laps
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:28.182s, 21 laps
8. Pascal Wehrlein, Force India, 1:28.329s, 32 laps
9. Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes, 1:28.489s, 48 laps
10. Susie Wolff, Williams, 1:28.906s, 86 laps
11. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:30.429s, 11 laps
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