My start of this season was a bit like Mercedes in 2024. Horrible and slow. For some reason I just could not sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning, and when I finally woke up at 11, it was already 3 hours into the Day 1 morning session, as it startet 8 in the morning in my local time.
So, we skipped some of the morning routines, and headed into the office. And the feeling was finally there when it early in the session was coverage of Lewis Hamilton in his red Scuderia Ferrari. Otherwise, not so much to report.
There are little to none huge technical changes, for any of the teams. There are some new sponsors here and there, some new drivers here and there. And my expectations for a rather slow first testing day, was more or less confirmed. The most exciting moments for me was in the confusion during the power outage, that in the end ended with a extension of the second session.
As we stand before the end of an era, it would be quite naive to expect huge revolutions. But the changes are there, of course. The larger teams competing at the top, have the most new stuff. And probably have more to show tomorrow. This is after all, a test.
I won’t dive deep into the times that were set. It’s hard to say who really tried to set fast times, or did more long run testing on tires and machinery. But with the wonderkid Andrea Kimi Antonelli topping the first session, and last years outsider, and for many fan favorite Lando Norris, topping the final. There are some things i notice.
Haas, who improved rapidly in the final part of the 2024 season, is 3.170 behind with Esteban Ocon on the final timing sheet. Ollie Bearman, who impressed many in his Ferrari debut, and then had his chance with descent efforts in Haas later, ended up 5.092 behind Lando Norris best time of 1.38.430.
Norris, Russel, verstappen, Leclerc who is expected to be the title contenders is making out the top four. And it is, for us with a both historical, and current, interest, nice to see that mister consistent, mister nice guy, the one that no one dislikes, Carlos Sainz, takes his Williams in to fifth, only 0.525 behind Norris’ benchmark. The final thing i notice in the sheet, is that Racing Bulls, RB, VCARB or whatever they will end up to be called this year. Is the first team who have their drivers on consecutive times. Aston Martin calls on a bit behind this, and Haas to little surprise, is making up the final two spots.