Barcelona Test: Day 1 Recap
May 14, 2019
Date: Tuesday, May 14
Location: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya
Layout: 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track
Driver: Pietro Fittipaldi
Laps Completed: 103 laps
Distance Completed: 479.465 kilometers (297.876 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:18.326 (7th overall)
Fastest Lap: 1:15.511 by Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes
Most Laps: 134 laps by Nicholas Latifi of Williams
Rundown
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team fielded its test driver Pietro Fittipaldi on the opening day of the two-day in-season test at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.
Tuesday marked the third and most productive outing for Fittipaldi behind the wheel of the Haas VF-19 – the Brazilian having previously logged 61 laps in pre-season testing at the Spanish track, followed by a further 69 laps in April’s in-season test at Bahrain International Circuit.
Fittipaldi accumulated 103 laps over the course of the day with a best time of 1:18.326 at the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track – placing him seventh overall from 13 entrants at the test. A productive morning netted 57 tours from a series of eight timed stints with Fittipaldi recording his fastest time before the lunch break of 1:18.643. The afternoon program saw Fittipaldi cycle through a variety of Pirelli compounds over a further 46 laps, duly banking his quickest time just minutes out from the checkered flag on lap 98.
Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes set Tuesday’s best time (1:15.511) while Nicholas Latifi ran the most laps (134) for Williams.
Kevin Magnussen, fresh off his seventh-place points scoring run in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, assumes steering duties Wednesday to conclude the test.
Pietro Fittipaldi, Driver No. 51, Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
“It was a good day with a lot of miles. The car ran well, it was really reliable, so thank you again to the team for the great job there. We made full use of the test trying different things throughout the day and the pace was good too – I was really happy about that. It was good over both short and long runs, the balance of the car felt great. We’ll definitely be able to learn a lot from the day. I felt good in the car, it’s been a great day.”