Mercedes F1 Testing in Barcelona at Day One
Giancarlo Perlas February 22, 2016
The Mercedes-Benz F1 W07 Hybrid of Mercedes AMG Petronas made its debut as of February 22. After that it was tested in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The car was driven by reigning and three-time Formula One Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton. The testing opened at 9:00 AM until everyone took a break at 1:00 PM. Then the event resumed and went on up to 6:00 PM.
Hamilton racked 66 laps during the first half of the testing. Then he proceeded to finish 90 more laps until the end of the afternoon session. Overall, the champion gained 156 laps in his race car, which is more than what everyone else achieved during that day.
The goal of the team is to accumulate as much mileage as possible plus to assess its setup and evaluate the 2016 Pirelli tires. With a total of 1,620 km covered by the new Mercedes power units, the group definitely achieved their main goal.
However, based from the results posted by Daimler, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had a strong showing in his car. Although he only completed a total of 69 laps, his best time was at 1:24.939. The numbers were better than the record of Hamilton that day, which was 1:25.409.
Hamilton sounded to be in high spirits during his interview after the testing. According to the champ, the car has been great so far and it was a fantastic start for the whole team. He said he didn’t encounter any issues after completing the laps. The Briton admitted that he felt a bit different with the tires, but he expects to understand them better in the coming days.
The current F1 Drivers’ Champion also stated that he is expecting more competition from Ferrari this year as well as his partner, Nico Rosberg.
