Formula One 2018: Pre-Season Testing Recap

Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says conditions on the opening day of pre-season testing made it hard to draw any real conclusions from his 2018 Mercedes challenger. As a result, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton did not take to the track and has only completed 25 laps in two days.

A fuel leak struck Max Verstappen's Red Bull and restricted the Dutchman to one installation lap.

Bottas completed a total of 94 laps and the second fastest time with a 1:19.976.

"Having run in the morning, he was comfortable in the auto already and we would have lost about an hour of running time with the driver switch", added the champion.

You look at the others, you compare a bit, but we should not get into detail too much because it's pointless. In the morning, we focused on aero work with different aero rakes on the auto, running various tests. The auto spent most of the afternoon in the garage after the engine cover showed tell-tale signs of overheating around the exhaust.

The team also missed the majority of the afternoon's running due to "a small exhaust clip break", leaving Vandoorne on 37 laps.

It follows a wheelnut failure for Fernando Alonso on Monday and means the team's lap count is just 19 laps higher than the same time past year when it was struggling with Honda reliability issues.

However, the lap was flattered by Vandoorne's use of the new-for-2018 hypersoft tyre, the quickest compound in Pirelli's expanded range. "The tires are just not made for these conditions".

Union Members Voice Concern For Supreme Court Case At Pittsburgh March
Justice Anthony Kennedy prodded Franklin on the objective of the state's interest in negotiating with a single partner. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on a high-profile case that could slash the power of public-employee unions.

"I have learned about the new vehicle and its general behaviour, but we still need better conditions to unlock everything and really push the limits".

"Toto Wolff wants us both to be performing on a 100 per cent level, and that can provide some healthy competition". But that run was worse than being in the wet on slicks, it was worse than that! "But it's up to me if I perform on track and I will made a decision to show muscle if needed".

This in turn gives them a chance to make changes before the first race on March 25.

But with the air temperature never registering above 5C all day, Vettel - who caused a red flag when he spun and dragged gravel onto the circuit at the first sequence of corners - described the weather as "the limiting factor" on the day.

Mercedes opted to keep Valtteri Bottas in the auto for the entire day.

Sebastian Vettel climbed up to P3 after his first extended run of the day.

Teams have been considering adding an extra day to testing to compensate for the missed track time.

Robert Kubica, replacing Sergey Sirotkin the afternoon's session, was seventh with a 1:21.495 while the Russian driver was 0.327s down.

Related News:

02 March 2018

Amazon just bought Ring and its smart home devices for $1 billion
Though unrelated but companies like Twitch and Audible that were acquired by Amazon do maintain an independent presence. The deal is expected to be worth over US$1 billion, according to Reuters .

01 March 2018

Here's Why Warren Buffett Has 'Bought More Apple Than Anything Else'
Cramer said it didn't sound like Buffett was super confident. "The best chance to deploy money is when things are going down". The company received a $29 billion tax bump after the tax plan passed Congress last December, Buffett wrote in his letter .

01 March 2018

Tragic Vicar of Dibley star Emma Chambers was plagued by severe allergies
Chambers passed away aged 53 on Wednesday but her death from natural causes was only announced yesterday. He told Radio 4 this morning, saying: 'It's no age to have a heart attack , as I understand it'.
02 March 2018

More than 100 Houthis killed in Yemen
The war in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced over 3 million others, according to humanitarian agencies.

01 March 2018

Apple once again tipped to launch 'giant' 6.5-inch iPhone in 2018
With the eSIM tech, smartphones can connect to the cellular data networks without inserting a traditional SIM card. Like the iPhone X, the larger model will include a Face ID scanner that unlocks the device and enables payments.

01 March 2018

Black Panther Pulls In Another Strong Weekend With Revenue At $108 Million
Thanks to " Black Panther ", Disney accountants are facing a new challenge - not that they're complaining. The film stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther , alongside Michael B.
02 March 2018

Doe-eyed superhero picked for Tokyo 2020 mascot
The three candidates were shortlisted in December from a total of 2,042 design submissions from the public. The list was narrowed down to three by experts and voted for by school students across the nation.

01 March 2018

Apple Moves Sensitive iCloud Data to Chinese Servers
By contrast, Apple has given the United States customer account content in response to 2,366 out of 8,475 government requests. Apple saysit alone would control the encryption keys, and Chinese authorities do not have any "backdoor" to access data.

01 March 2018

Kim Kardashian debuts new pink hair
Kim also revealed she is already missing her short hair, admitting she is "so indecisive" when it comes to style choices. Kim K leaked the news on her Snapchat today, posting multiple videos of Kanye and the Jenner/Kardashian gang on the set.
01 March 2018

See Russell Wilson in Uniform as a New York Yankee!
Nevertheless, there Wilson was on Monday, not practicing his spiral but digging into the dirt of the batter's box at George M. And so for me, and these guys in there, they all have a certain mindset of success, a place they want to go.

01 March 2018

Westbrook on Zaza Pachulia: 'He Tried to Hurt Me'
Westbrook also said he thought Pachulia was a dirty player, and Paul George wasn't willing to pardon him, either. He went for the rebound, but got tangled up with Nick Young and fell to the floor under the basket.

01 March 2018

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) 4Q18 Earnings Miss Estimates
News stories about Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT ) have been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 456.9% during the 2nd quarter. $131.11M worth of Walmart Inc .