Bottas just ahead of Perez, Verstappen also impresses on first morning; Watch afternoon session live on Sky Sports F1
Wednesday 19 February 2020 18:07, UK
Mercedes made a fast start to F1 2020 as Valtteri Bottas set the pace on a busy and competitive opening morning of winter testing.
So often in Barcelona, teams are ironing out issues with their new cars on Day One of pre-season - but on Wednesday most drivers hit the ground running, with fast times, plenty of laps, and intriguing talking points.
Sergio Perez was a surprise leader for Racing Point for much of the morning - while Max Verstappen also enjoyed an impressive start for Red Bull - but it was Bottas who topped the timesheets at lunch in his W11.
Charles Leclerc was a late replacement at Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel feeling unwell, and the Scuderia had a quieter morning in terms of notable track times compared to title rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.
Leclerc was seventh, behind Carlos Sainz in the McLaren, the returning Esteban Ocon in the Renault, and George Russell for a Williams team who are desperate to bounce back in 2020.
Bottas' time, a 1:17.313, was almost a second faster than the quickest time from the same day last year, highlighting the development of the new-for-2020 cars.
In fact, two drivers - Perez and Russell - comfortably out-paced their fastest times from 2019 Spanish GP qualifying at the same Circuit de Catalunya track.
Teams also racked up significant mileage on the opening morning, and three drivers completed more than 66 laps - the Spanish GP race distance.
Verstappen led the way in that regard with 91 laps, with drivers now making a mockery of the previous testing rarity of getting to a century.
C1 is the hardest-compound tyre, C5 is the softest
While little should be read into the pecking order at this early stage of pre-season, Mercedes, on the back of their unprecedented run of six straight double crowns, seem to have developed another beauty in the W11.
"What they have done with the sidepods is now cutting edge and the bargeboards are a step on from what they have done before," said Sky F1's Ted Kravitz. "Visually we can say it's a really, really classy car."
Ted also praised Red Bull for their RB16, in particular for the "greatest hits of nose assemblies".
Racing Point and Williams - two Mercedes-powered teams - were notable with their early strides on the timesheet, while Robert Kubica made another return to F1 as he completed the morning for Alfa Romeo.
The Pole, who left Williams last year, is a test driver for Alfa this season and finished the morning in eighth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas and Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso.
Every day of winter testing is being shown on Sky Sports F1 for the very first time, and you can watch on TV, via Sky Go, and on the Sky Sports app.
Lewis Hamilton, aiming for a record-equalling seventh title this season, is one of five drivers who will be making their 2020 debuts in the afternoon, with the Englishman replacing Bottas.
Daniel Ricciardo, Nicholas Latifi, Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi will also be in action.
