F1 Barcelona test: first four hours completed as Mercedes and Audi face early engine issues. The first four hours of F1 testing in Barcelona are complete.

The first morning of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona has just come to an end, with seven teams taking to the track. Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams were not present on this opening day, with Williams set to miss all five days of testing. The morning session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya marked the baptism of these brand-new cars and the new generation of F1 power units, with lap times that were inevitably not very representative.

As soon as the green light came on, Audi and Mercedes were the first to head out on track. On a cold and damp circuit, they completed the very first laps of the new era. As the track gradually dried, all teams switched to slick tyres and began to set more meaningful laps, focusing on completing as many runs as possible. However, the first issues were not long in coming.

Issues for Mercedes and Audi

After the first two hours ran smoothly, the initial problems began to surface. The first red flag was caused by Franco Colapinto in the Alpine, who stopped his car between Turns 10 and 11. Despite the interruption, he was able to restart shortly afterwards, return to the pits and continue with the day’s programme. Even so, it represents an early warning sign for the Mercedes power unit.

More serious was the issue that led to the second red flag, triggered by Gabriel Bortoleto. The new Audi engine appeared unable to cope, particularly on the electrical side, forcing the Brazilian driver to stop his car at the same point as Colapinto. A recovery crane was required to remove the new Audi from the track. In addition, a medical car was photographed close to Bortoleto’s car, immediately bringing back memories of what happened to Fernando Alonso in 2015.

Encouraging signs for Ferrari: session lap times

The two red flags slowed the session but did not disrupt Haas’ programme. The American team completed more laps than anyone else, with 64 tours in total, sending very positive signals for the Ferrari power unit. Covering a distance close to that of a full Grand Prix during the first test session is certainly encouraging, although it is far too early to draw firm conclusions.

Mercedes also completed a solid programme, logging 53 laps with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, followed by Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull and Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls. Bortoleto and Valtteri Bottas both stopped at 30 laps, while Alpine with Franco Colapinto completed just 25 laps.

The fastest lap of the session was set by Isack Hadjar with a time of 1’18”835, followed by Antonelli, who stopped the clocks at 1’20”700. Close behind came Colapinto, Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Bottas and Bortoleto, rounding out the order at the end of the first four hours of running.