The 2022 F1 season kicked-off with the first official ‘test’ a.k.a shakedown at Barcelona as Lando Norris led the Ferrari duo in the Top 3.
Most of the F1 teams had both their drivers in action on Day 1 of the Barcelona Test/Shakedown, with only few having some troubles. Interestingly, there were no yellow or red flags to disrupt the day apart from one pitlane close moment in the afternoon.
It was McLaren’s Norris who stopped at the exit of the pitlane and had to be pushed back into the garage. Apart from him, Alfa Romeo faced some mechanical issues to start the day which left Robert Kubica with only handful of laps in the morning session.
The afternoon session saw Mick Schumacher getting hampered by lack of running due to a floor damage which the team were able to fix. Everyone else kept it clean apart from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who had a minor run through the gravel.
Looking at the standings, Norris went for some quick times towards the end of the day to lead the pack with a 1m19.568s lap. He did 102 laps in all to set the fastest time on C4 compound, as he led Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc (1m20.416s, 80) and Carlos Sainz (1m20.416s, 45), where the former drove in the afternoon after taking over from the Spaniard.
The Mercedes pair were next with George Russell (1m20.784s, 77) ahead of Lewis Hamilton (1m20.929s, 50) after the former started the proceedings for the team before the seven-time F1 champion took over.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m21.276s, 52) was sixth – having driven in the morning session – from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m21.638s, 120), as reigning world champion Verstappen (1m22.246s, 147) was demoted to ninth after late lap from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m21.746s, 146) who improved to eighth.
Everyone from Leclerc until Alonso set their best time on C3 compound, with Verstappen doing so on C2 as Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m22.572s, 23) rounded out the Top 10. The Finn drove in the afternoon and got more laps than Kubica but it wasn’t as extensive that he or the team would have liked.
Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m22.760s, 66) ended up 11th after he took over from his teammate in the afternoon with Nicholas Latifi (1m23.379s, 66) finishing 14th. The Canadian was pipped by late laps from Haas’ Schumacher (1m22.962s, 23) and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m23.327s, 67).
The German managed to return after getting his floor fixed and set a good time. The standings were rounded out by Haas’ Nikita Mazepin (1m24.505s, 20) and Kubica (1m25.909s, 9). Everyone from Bottas until Latifi set their best lap on the C3 compound along with Kubica, with Mazpein doing so on the C2.
More to come
#F1 #HappyTesting times at 6pm CET. The end of day 1 with Norris fastest but Verstappen most productive. #MsportXtra pic.twitter.com/gSXYSpIWDh
— #MsportXtra (@MsportXtra) February 23, 2022