Formula one preseason test went down on Sunday at Jerez racetrack in southern Spain. This was the first test with a second to come in Barcelona all in preparation of the season opening Australian Grand Pix on March 15 in Melbourne. The four day test saw eight of nine teams participate with their new machines. Cars that were being tested include Mercedes AMG, Ferrari, McLaren, Red bull among others.
The new Ferrari SF15-T topped the first and second day of the test in the hands of Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Raikkonen set the best time of 1m 20.841s. “You usually know if a car is good or not, and this year is a completely different story than last year as I had a good feeling straight away when I went out,” said Raikkonen.
Below is a list of the fastest single lap times by the teams and the drivers who achieved them:
1 Ferrari (Kimi Raikkonen) 1.20.841
2 Sauber (Felipe Nasr) 1:21.545
3 Mercedes (Nico Rosberg) 1:21.982
4 Williams (Felipe Massa) 1:22.276
5 Toro Rosso (Max Verstappen) 1:22.553
6 Lotus (Pastor Maldonado) 1:22.713
7 Red Bull (Daniel Ricciardo) 1:23.338
8 McLaren (Jenson Button) 1:27.660
Ferrari has definitely done some improvements after it failed to win last year’s grand pix for the first time since 1993. McLaren on the other hand had a few hitches and only completed 35 laps and its best time of 1m 27.660s. Despite the few hitches McLaren engineering director says the team left the first testing feeling positive. “Our prime objective coming away from this test was to ascertain that the main car architecture worked, and we’ve done that,” he explained.
The second test starts in Barcelona on Feb. 19 and the opening race on March 15 in Australia.
