Sebastian Vettel tops the timesheets on the first day of in-season testing in Barcelona

Sebastian Vettel tops the timesheets on the first day of in-season testing in Barcelona

On the first day of Formula One's first in-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona today, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was quickest ahead of Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button when the Williams team tested a radical new rear wing as part of 2017 development.

Dry but chilly conditions greeted the teams on the first morning of the two-day test but temperatures gradually warmed up as the sun broke through. But the first day of the test saw the Ferrari team focusing on one-lap pace in the morning, having struggled for pace in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying and completed a series of short runs on the soft and medium.

But it was Williams that caused a stir when it unveiled a radical new rear wing and modified front wing which is in preparation for the 2017 regulations that soon will be kicking into the sport. Williams then reverted to its 2016-spec configuration for the afternoon and managed 86 laps with Lynn.

But it was Sebastian Vettel who clocked a 1.23.220 on the soft tyres and managed 103 laps to finish ahead of Nico Rosberg in second place who was 0.117 seconds behind Vettel, who had the highest lap tally with 119 laps. But Rosberg finished ahead of Jenson Button in third place who was 0.5 seconds behind Vettel.

Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean ran a new chassis today as he looks to get on top of his balance problems and ended up in fourth place ahead of Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein who finished in fifth place ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who ended the day in sixth place.

GP2 Driver Pierre Gladly drove the Toro Rosso for the first time this season and ended the day in seventh place ahead of Force India development driver Alfonso Celis Jr in eighth place and ahead of Williams development driver Alex Lynn in ninth place and ahead of Esteban Ocon in tenth place who was 3.310 seconds off the pace despite giving Renault’s new spec power unit its first outing.

Even though Renault was testing its upgrade on the first day of the test, it is unlikely the team was looking for raw performance at this stage; with a big step forward expected when the team introduces the upgrade to its race cars for the Canadian Grand Prix.

The classification for the first day of the in-season test at Barcelona is as follows:–

1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:23.220, 103 laps
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:23.337, 119 laps
3. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:23.753, 86 laps
4. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:23.882, 96 laps
5. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:24.297, 86 laps
6. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:24.307, 89 laps
7. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso, 1:24.821, 78 laps
8. Alfonso Celis Jr, Force India, 1:24.821, 99 laps
9. Alex Lynn, Williams, 1:26.071, 86 laps
10. Esteban Ocon, Renault, 1:26.530, 105 laps

Keep your eyes peeled for our report on the final day of the first F1 In-season test at Barcelona at Driving for Pleasure tomorrow evening.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa