Kimi Räikkönen sets the pace on quiet first day in Jerez - Pre-season testing in Spain begins with six times on the board
Published by Christine
The first day of testing was more of a shakedown for many of the teams as running was limited, there wasn't a lot of focus on out and out pace, and we didn't see several of the cars until halfway through the day. Eight drivers ventured out onto the track and only six of them set lap times, with both Sebastian Vettel and Marcus Ericsson completing only installation laps for Red Bull and Caterham respectively.
Lewis Hamilton had a tough day, with a crash into the barriers early on in the morning. Mercedes confirmed it was due to a rear wing failure, which saw Hamilton off into the barriers at high speed. The Brit explained it was a little scary but nothing out of the ordinary for him.
We had a small hiccup but we'll bounce back from it and hopefully it's the first of very few for us. When the car doesn't stop under braking it's always a bit of a heart-in-mouth moment but I've had a few of those in my career so I'm used to it. Initially I didn't really know what happened; I braked but the car didn't slow down and it's always a little nervy in those moments, but I'm still walking so that's the main thing!
Also today, Caterham and Williams both delayed their launches due to technical issues, but they both eventually appeared out on track for a handful of laps. They didn't miss out on a lot of running, however, as Ubaid Parker noticed: "Just 93 laps completed in total, against last year's 657." Timings were also about eight seconds off last year's pace, but there's obviously been a lot more to deal with on the first day of testing in 2014.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:27.104 | 31 |
| 2 | L Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:27.820 | 18 |
| 3 | V Bottas | Williams F1 Team | 1:30.082 | 7 |
| 4 | S Pérez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:33.161 | 11 |
| 5 | JE Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:36.530 | 15 |
| 6 | E Gutiérrez | Sauber F1 Team | 1:42.257 | 7 |
| 7 | S Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | No time | 3 |
| 8 | M Ericsson | Caterham F1 Team | No time | 1 |
Williams admitted that they didn't have a great start to the day but things improved as they fixed any problems discovered overnight. Caterham boss, Cyril Abiteboul, also admitted they were hoping to do more running tomorrow, saying: "We were looking at running other installation laps towards the end of the day but an engine issue cut that short, so now the night shift are coming on track, ready to push on through to tomorrow when we want to complete more significant mileage."
Just done my first lap as a @CaterhamF1 driver. Very proud moment! Initial feeling good, but now the hard work starts. #F1 #Jerez
Ericsson_Marcus
Two-lap run for Checo, who returns to the pits for more checks. Runs like these are vital for opening testing sessions. #FeelTheForce
Our running is over for the day. Positive first feelings about the car and the great job from the team, notwithstanding our problem.
Never seen Tweetdeck columns scroll so quickly. 2014 F1 cars might not be pretty, but they're certainly giving you something to talk about!
Tomorrow we're expecting plenty more laps from those teams who have got themselves established in Jerez. Marussia are also expected to make an appearance, with the first glimpse of their new 2014 car. Teams will need to start getting some good mileage in, as Friday will be devoted solely to wet tyre testing, rather than their own individual programmes.
