Barcelona Test No. 3: Day 1 Recap

After two weeks of pre-season testing at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya back in late February and early March, Formula One teams returned for another round of testing at the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track following last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The first of two days of in-season testing at Barcelona began Tuesday with Romain Grosjean representing Haas F1 Team. All 10 teams competing in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship were present.

Grosjean logged 129 laps, with his quickest time coming on his 37th tour – a 1:18.449 set on Pirelli P Zero Pink hypersoft tires that placed him fourth among the 13 drivers who participated.

Grosjean began the morning session with an installation lap on the Ice Blue hard tire before a 10-lap stint on the Yellow soft compound. Two runs of 12 laps each on Red supersofts were followed by a change to the grippier and, subsequently, faster hypersoft rubber over two outings totaling 16 laps. Grosjean switched back to the soft tire for two 11-lap drives prior to the mandatory lunch break to take his morning tally to 73 laps.

Grosjean ran 56 laps in the afternoon session with a program consisting of three 11-lap runs on the White medium tire before switching to the Purple ultrasoft tire for two outings of eight laps apiece. He closed the day with a seven-lap run on a used set of mediums.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen set the quickest time (1:17.528) with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton recording the most laps (151).

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“It’s been a very good day and a very productive day for the team. We’ve done a lot of mileage and we haven’t had any issues with the car. The circuit was a bit dirty, initially, in the morning. The grip was a bit low – it was fresh. It got better and we got some really decent running. We did some very good testing with the car. We’ve learned a lot about the different tires and setup work, which you don’t get to do on a race weekend. The feeling was super good, and I think it was important to get back on the horse after not being able to complete the grand prix on Sunday. So, feelings were good. Hopefully, they stay there for Monaco and the rest of the season. I’m very happy with the job that everyone’s done on the day. ”

Teammate Kevin Magnussen takes over the Haas VF-18 on Wednesday for the final day of testing at Barcelona.