Monday marked the start of Formula 1’s two four-day tests at Spanish Grand Prix venue Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with warm and sunny conditions expected throughout. No more snow in Spain like in 2018, so a very productive Monday indeed at the Circuit de Catalunya. Several red flags, yes, but a lot of driving as well. Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel led the way on the opening day of pre-season testing for the 2019 Formula 1 season, as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. and Haas’ Romain Grosjean both recovered from minor glitches to place second and third respectively.
The pair exchanged the position through the latter stages of Monday’s running, with Sainz Jr. ultimately bagging the spot, four-tenths behind Vettel. Max Verstappen began Red Bull’s new partnership with Honda in fourth position, while Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a spin into the gravel on his out lap to rack up over 100 laps, placing fifth.
Stoppages of Kimi Raikkonen’s new Alfa Romeo C38 bookended the day’s proceedings. The 2007 Formula One world champion got off to an inauspicious start with his new team by spinning off at turn four when the first test of the year was just five minutes old. He was swiftly back on track, however, and logged 114 laps before stopping on the start/finish straight moments before the chequered flag was due to fall. Kimi Raikkonen kept Alfa Romeo in the top five, having set the fourth fastest time earlier on in the day. He ran C2 and C3 tyres and had been as high as second, but was shuffled back later in the afternoon.
Testing will resume at 09:00 on Tuesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
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