Ferrari – What we learned from the first pre-season testing session. Reason for cautious optimism at Scuderia Ferrari.

Stats after the first pre-season testing session:
Scuderia Ferrari (465 laps)
Sebastian Vettel (265 laps)
Kimi Raikkonen (200 laps)

There has been a lack of confidence towards Scuderia Ferrari ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season, given the major aerodynamic rule changes which will be introduced, but the Italian team seems to be on the right track and can be happy with the first four days in Barcelona, as the Scuderia managed to repeatedly stay very close to rivals Mercedes on the timesheets despite the fact that Ferrari used only the harder tyre compounds for now.

The general approach seems to have changed at Ferrari, with very few comments and information made public during the winter, as opposed to the situation from last years. No press conferences were held in in recent months and even this week the two Scuderia drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, were only allowed to be present at interviews on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, where they both offered the typical cautious optimism. The Italian team has chosen to focus entirely on its own testing programme and was able to cover about 2164km during the four days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which was very close to what Mercedes has done. In addition, Ferrari did not use the Super Soft and Ultra Soft tyre like Mercedes did, which should be an encouraging guidance for the development process of the SF70H ahead of the 2017 Formula One season.

Although it is true that Ferrari also impressed during the pre-season testing back in 2015 and 2016, this time there is the general impression that 2017 could actually be a very different season and a could prove slightly more fruitful for the Maranello team. The focus shifts now on the second pre-season testing session, which is scheduled to take place next week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Overall best times from the first pre-season testing session:
1. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m19.705s 324 laps (ultrasofts)
2. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m19.952s 267 laps (soft)
3. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m20.872s 234 laps (soft)
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m20.983s 201 laps (supersoft)
5. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m21.153s 198 laps (soft)
6. Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m21.396s 174 laps (soft)
7. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1m21.769s 174 laps (soft)
8. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m21.791s 169 laps (soft)
9. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1m21.824s 151 laps (supersoft)
10. Felipe Massa Williams 1m22.076s 150 laps (soft)
11. Romain Grosjean Haas 1m22.118s 143 laps (supersoft)
12. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1m22.204s 121 laps (supersoft)
13. Lance Stroll Williams 1m22.351s 120 laps (soft)
14. Antonio Giovinazzi Sauber 1m22.401s 110 laps (ultrasoft)
15. Esteban Ocon Force India 1m22.509s 107 laps (supersoft)
16. Sergio Perez Force India 1m22.534s 103 laps (supersoft)
17. Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1m22.576s 101 laps (ultrasoft)
18. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1m22.598s 100 laps (ultrasoft)
19. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m22.956s 86 laps (soft)
20. Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1m23.540s 83 laps (medium)
21. Alfonso Celis Jr Force India 1m23.568s 71 laps (ultrasoft)