Sebastian Vettel was fastest on the first day of the first 2019 Formula 1 pre-season test. The German completed a total of 169 laps, 72 in the morning and a further 97 in the afternoon. The first item on the agenda was a check of all the car systems. A series of runs with the car in different configurations followed.
Vettel was able to complete the planned programme for the day without any problems
He ran various tyre compounds in order to analyse the car’s behaviour on each of them. Meanwhile, he set the best time of 1:18.161min before the lunch break.
At the end of his first day of running Sebastian Vettel was quite satisfied. “The first impression from today is very good. I could not have hoped for a better day, as the car worked really well and we had no issues slowing us down. We completed the programme just the way we wanted. Coming here I was pretty open minded and had no expectations and I didn’t need that much time to familiar with the car, as it was making everything quite straightforward for me. I must say I am still a bit rusty, as I haven’t been driving for several months, but I’ll sleep well tonight”.
“It is too early to sum it up, as it’s just the first day – Vettel added – but I would like to send my compliments to everyone back at the factory in Maranello for how they tackled all the new rules and what they put on track today and also how the team is handling the car in a well prepared way”.
Here’s the final leaderboard after the opening day of pre-season testing in Barcelona ⏱️?
Vettel = ?
Time for @McLarenF1 fans to start getting a little bit excited? ?#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/jmsxqFmOq0
— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 февруари 2019 г.
