Barcelona Test No.2: Day 1 Recap
February 26, 2019
Date: Tuesday, February 26
Location: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, Spain
Layout: 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn circuit
Driver: Kevin Magnussen
Laps Completed: 131 laps
Distance Completed: 609.805 kilometers (378.852 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:18.769 (8th overall)
Fastest Lap: 1:17.709 by Lando Norris of McLaren F1 Team
Most Laps: 136 laps by Pierre Gasly of Red Bull Racing
Rich Energy 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-19.
Keen to build upon his 125-lap total from last week’s test sessions, the Dane ultimately set the highest single-day lap tally for the American squad in testing so far, accumulating a total of 131 laps on his return to the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn track.
Magnussen rolled out the garage shortly after 9 a.m. local time and proceeded to work through early reconnaissance laps on the C2 and C3 Pirelli rubber. A priority for the morning session was then accruing mileage on the VF-19, with Magnussen working on long-distance runs to deliver 84 laps by the lunch break.
The afternoon saw Magnussen produce his best lap of the day – a 1:18.769 utilizing the second-softest compound from Pirelli’s available range in testing, the C4 tire. The time placed him eighth among the 13 drivers participating in Tuesday’s session.
McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris set the day’s quickest time (1:17.709) while Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly ran the most laps (136).
Teammate Romain Grosjean takes over the Haas VF-19 on Wednesday, with Magnussen returning for his final preseason stint on Thursday before Grosjean concludes preseason testing in Spain on Friday.
Kevin Magnussen:
“It’s been a good day with lots of laps. I’m very happy to have had a problem free day, it’s been good just to run all day with no issues. We needed to start the week off like that. It’s nice to get those laps in and see that the car is reliable. The car feels good and we managed to get some long runs in on different tires. Overall, it’s been a very positive day.”
Guenther Steiner:
“It was a pretty good day. We managed to achieve our highest lap total since we started testing last week. We just got on with the job today, I think we’ve caught up a little bit with what we missed out on in week one. It’s been a positive start, hopefully we can continue like this tomorrow.”
Ends