Barcelona Test No. 2: Day 1 Recap

Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen began the second and final week of preseason testing Tuesday at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya behind the wheel of the Haas VF-18. The 25-year-old from Roskilde, Denmark, was keen to build upon his 132-lap total from last week’s test session, which was disrupted by weather.

A blue sky greeted Magnussen and the rest of his Formula One counterparts as they took to the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track. Magnussen rolled out of the Haas F1 Team garage promptly at 9 a.m. local time for some reconnaissance laps before a 15-lap timed drive on the Pirelli P Zero White medium tire. A switch to the Yellow soft tire was subsequently made, whereupon Magnussen performed three stints totaling 31 laps. It was during the first of those runs on softs where Magnussen posted his quickest lap of the day – a 1:21.298 earned on his 23rd tour.

Track time in the afternoon was ceded to an ERS (Energy Recovery System) related component issue. Time spent in the garage meant a shortened run plan, with Magnussen returning to the track with just over an hour remaining in the session. Working on a race simulation, Magnussen started with a 16-lap run on a used set of Red supersofts before pitting for a new set of softs which he ran for 17 laps. A final, 12-lap stint on new supersofts took his lap total to 96 for the day.

Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the day’s quickest time (1:20.396) and ran the most laps (171).

“It was a good day. We got a lot of laps done. We started working properly with the car, and not just doing systems checks, installation laps and aero runs. I’d say it was our first proper day, also with the weather being a bit warmer and representative of what we’re probably going to have in the season. It’s still not quite there, but it’s getting closer. I’m happy and positive after the day.”

“A productive day today. We had a few small problems, but they are normal in testing, so I would call them minor ones and we got them sorted. We almost did 100 laps, which if we keep on going like this, we’ll be fine.”

Teammate Romain Grosjean takes over the Haas VF-18 on Wednesday, with Magnussen returning to the car on Thursday before Grosjean completes the second and final week of testing on Friday.