Posted on 7th March 2017
Williams driver Felipe Massa led the way during the first day of the second test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in a wet-dry session ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.
Today's session saw more misery for the McLaren-Honda team as Stoffel Vandoorne’s power unit broke down; necessitating what was at least the fourth engine change for the MCL32 so far this winter.
Also towards the end of the session, Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg came to a halt on track just moments before the chequered flag which caused the day’s only red flag.
But the lap count was also the highest of the winter testing period so far and showing how much of a difference a week can make in Formula One. In apparent defiance of pre-season predictions the cars would be physically taxing to drive, both Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel completed 168 laps (almost three times the race distance of the Spanish GP) while Force India driver Esteban Ocon recorded 142 laps today.
But it was Felipe Massa who was fastest on the first day of the second F1 pre-season test with a stunning lap time of 1.19.726 and completed 168 laps. Massa's lap time was the second fastest of the winter test period and it is a contrast difference to how Williams performed last week.
Massa finished ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in second place and ahead of Sebastian Vettel in third place. Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place ahead of Valtteri Bottas in fifth place, Esteban Ocon in sixth place, Nico Hulkenberg in seventh place, Kevin Magnussen in eighth place, Daniil Kvyat in ninth place and Stoffel Vandoorne in tenth place.
As we head further down the grid, Pascal Wehrlein ended the session in eleventh place ahead of Marcus Ericsson in twelfth place and Jolyon Palmer in thirteenth place.
Day One timesheet
1) Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:19.726, 168 laps
2) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:19.900, 89 laps
3) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:20.906, 168 laps
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:20.456, 49 laps
5) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:20.924, 86 laps
6) Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1:21.347, 142 laps
7) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:21.589, 58 laps
8) Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:21.676, 81 laps
9) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:21.743, 83 laps
10) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren-Honda, 1.22.537, 80 laps
11) Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, 1.23.336, 47 laps
12) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1.23.630, 53 laps
13) Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.24.790, 15 laps
Keep your eyes peeled at Driving For Pleasure as we will be covering all the days of the second pre-season F1 test at Barcelona with our daily reports this week alongside the latest F1 news.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
