F1 | Barcelona Test, Day 1: Norris rejects the Ferraris

Everything seemed set for a Ferrari double, but on the first day of pre-season 2022 Formula 1 tests held today at Montmelò in Barcelona, ​​Lando Norris’s McLaren MCL36 soared.

At the end of the day, after 8 hours without red flags, it was the Woking car that set the fastest time, with Norris clocking a 1’19 “568 enough to beat everyone, at least in the first standings of the new season. , this does not count and has not shown in any way the real values ​​on the field, which is why not only should it be taken with a grain of salt, but it must be weighed very well before venturing any hypothesis related to the real values ​​on the field.

The only thrill for Norris was the one who arrived in the afternoon, with his MCL36 that died as he exited the pit lane and the McLaren mechanics who were forced to go to retrieve the car and bring it back to the pits. After a few minutes, however, Lando was able to get back on track and proceed with his program.

But based on what we saw today, Ferrari is behind McLaren. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz seemed destined to get the daily double with first and second place, but Norris decided otherwise by making perfect use of a set of C4s (recognizable by the red band on the shoulders) in the last part of the day.

Leclerc was 6 tenths slower than Norris, but getting his time with a harder compound, the C3. Same goes for Carlos Sainz, third 3 tenths from Leclerc. The two Ferrari drivers completed a total of 153 laps (80 Leclerc, 73 Sainz for 715 kilometers), making the F1-75 the most active car on the track today. In the afternoon Sainz found himself in close contact with Verstappen, engaging in a close duel in which, in the first sector, he was the one to gain 3 tenths of a second over his rival. Then, however, in the last one the world champion returned to him what was lost and this led the two to remain distant with a gap that varied between 1 “2 and 8 tenths. Both then finished their respective run together, returning at the same time. in the pits.

Behind the Reds are the Silver Arrows, with George Russell ahead of Lewis Hamilton by a couple of tenths. Russell lapped in the morning doing 77 laps, while Hamilton, who tested in the afternoon, did 50. Both ran 5 and 10 laps with C2 and C3, without trying other compounds as often happened in the Barcelona tests. Both Mercedes best times were achieved with C3 compound tires. Mercedes today dedicated itself to comparison tests and, according to what we learned from Motorsport.com, made with the engine certainly not at its best.

Just outside the Top 10 is Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin. The German didn’t run too much in the morning with 52 passes. Lance Stroll, who took his place in the afternoon, made 67, but not going beyond the 13th time. However, the Canadian worked mainly with C2 compounds. Yuki Tsunoda instead had the opportunity to ride all day with the AlphaTauri AT03, completing 121 laps.

Lots of aerodynamic tests for the team from Faenza, with the flow viz appearing several times on the suspensions and in other components of the Italian car. 127 laps for Fernando Alonso with the Alpine A522 and the eighth fastest time ahead of the long-awaited and chat Red Bull RB18. The single-seater, fruit of the genius of Adrian Newey, completed 147 total laps with Max Verstappen at the wheel. During the afternoon, the Dutch world champion also had the opportunity to test a more open version of the RB18, with two gills appearing in the direction of the radiators of the bellies.

The most interesting aspect, beyond the technical aspects, is the amount of laps made by the RB18. Often, in the first few days of testing in past years, Milton Keynes’ single-seaters certainly did not shine for the amount of laps made. On this occasion, however, Verstappen managed to complete 147 laps.

Alfa Romeo had a difficult day. Robert Kubica completed the day with only 9 laps and many problems related to the multiple contacts of the splitter with the asphalt. In the afternoon Bottas remained in the pits for over 2 hours, but then managed to put together 23 laps and the tenth absolute time.

Behind him Alexander Albon’s WIlliams. The Thai is back in Formula 1 after a year of absence and today he did 66 laps, finishing just outside the Top 10. Lots of aerodynamic tests at the front on the FW42: often the car was sprinkled with flow viz right on the nose and wing earlier also with Nicholas Latifi (14th). We close the report of the day talking about the Haas. Nikita Mazepin did not do more than 20 laps. Then, in the afternoon, the American team had to replace the bottom of the VF-22 because it was damaged. Once the operations were completed, Mick Schumacher was able to enter the track and sign the 12th fastest time behind Albon.