Ferrari made at least a small exclamation point on the last day of the first Formula 1 test week in Barcelona. After Mercedes had set the tone on Thursday, Lewis Hamilton, somewhat surprisingly, set the fastest time on Friday.
In the final hour of the afternoon session of the final day, the seven-time F1 world champion lapped the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1:16.348 minutes, beating Mercedes driver George Russell’s best time on Thursday by a tenth of a second.
The Silver Arrows had already exhausted their test quota in the past few days and were only spectators on Friday. World champion Lando Norris set the second fastest time of the day in the McLaren (1:16.594 minutes) ahead of Charles Leclerc (1:16.653), who drove the Ferrari in the morning.
Red Bull star Max Verstappen found himself in seventh place in the test table (1:17.586).
Video: Hamilton gets Red and White Goddess
Hamilton expressed satisfaction with the first test drive of the year. “It was a really productive and pleasant week,” concluded the 41-year-old. The Reds didn’t have to deal with any major problems during their three days on the track, and the best time at the end was certainly a balm for Hamilton’s soul.
Last year, the Brit didn’t have any good test drives in the red racer before the start of the season – in retrospect, that was a warning sign.
Formula 1: Hamilton praises Ferrari for their hard work
Over the winter, the Ferrari people in Maranello had done a mountain of work, Hamilton praised his team: “It’s good to see that this is now reflected in the kilometers that we have accumulated here without any major problems.”
Ferrari still has a lot to do with a view to the start of the season in Melbourne in March, said the record champion: “But the atmosphere in the team is good and focused.”
The Formula 1 entourage is now moving on to Bahrain, where the next tests are scheduled for February 11th to 13th and again from February 18th to 20th.
The season begins on March 6th with the first free practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix, which takes place on March 8th.
