Barcelona, Feb 23 (BUS): McLaren’s Lando Norris was fastest on the opening day of pre-season testing, as the new generation of Formula One cars hit the track for the first time on Wednesday following one of the sport’s biggest regulatory changes.
Led by Charles Leclair morning session in his Ferrari, but Norris was the fastest in the afternoon a time of 1 minute and 19.568 seconds in the circuit of Barcelona Catalonia, according to the Associated Press.
Fellow ended Leclair, Carlos Sainz, the day in third place, ahead of the new Mercedes driver George Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton.
He ran the defending champion Max Frstubbn largest number of laps with the Red Bull but he only finished ninth, behind the Alps in Fernando Alonso.
Red Bull of Verstappen and the other top teams showed good reliability throughout the day, with Alfa Romeo and Haas the two most struggling teams. Verstappen went off the track during one of his laps but there were no major accidents throughout the session.
This was the first test of three consecutive days in Barcelona. Three more are scheduled to be held from March 10-12 in Bahrain before the season opens on March 20.
Red Bull’s new root side legs have caught the eye with a different design compared to most other teams. Several different design packages were shown as teams resorted to various solutions to comply with the new regulations. Most teams used airboats on their cars to collect data on airflow and downforce.
F1 has revamped its regulations to try to improve racing and make the series more competitive, with new aerodynamic requirements and tires that will hopefully allow drivers to race closer together and create more overtaking. Older cars will lose their downforce – and their ability to turn faster – the closer they get to the cars in front of them.
The cars look different with the new front and rear wings, as well as the larger wheels. It is also heavier than the previous generation and uses a higher proportion of sustainable fuel.
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