The first day of the second test was an interesting one as we saw some perhaps unexpected delays hitting the top teams, but amidst those incidents, it was the McLaren of Lando Norris that set the quickest lap of the day.

Norris recorded a lap time of 1:17.709 late in the day, using the C4 compound tyres, something that was misreported at the time by a few outlets saying he was on the C5 – yes, even the experts can be confused by the new compounds!

Ferrari worked hard in the morning session to resolve a cooling systems issue, which unfortunately kept them and scheduled driver Charles Leclerc off track for 2 hours.

Down at Mercedes, despite Lewis Hamilton completing 83 laps with no issues during the morning (along with some Melbourne upgrades too), Valtteri Bottas was not so lucky, completing just 7 laps in the afternoon session, an requiring an engine change.

Hats off to Williams, who had a much needed issue-free day at the track, with George Russell completing 119 laps, more than in the whole first week of testing combined. Hopefully good signs for the Grove team.

We also saw some visitors to the paddock, with both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne on site, as well as Eric Boullier, onsite with the French Grand Prix team and clear to ensure that fans are aware of the huge efforts in place to ensure that they are not affected by traffic issues like last year.

Fernando’s presence drew large crowds outside of McLaren Hospitality as the local fans gathered in the hope of catching a glimpse of him.

Day 1 Time Sheet

1. 1:17.709 Norris (McLaren) C4 – Total 80 laps
2. 1:17.715 Gasly (Red Bull) C3 – Total 136 laps
3. 1:17.824 Stroll (Racing Point) C5 – Total 82 laps
4. 1:17.925 Vettel (Ferrari) C3 – Total 81 laps
5. 1:18.589 Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) C4 – Total 99 laps
6. 1:18.649 Albon (Toro Rosso) C4 – Total 103 laps
7. 1:18.651 Leclerc (Ferrari) C3 – Total 29 laps
8. 1:18.769 Magnussen (Haas) C4 – Total 131 laps
9. 1:19.662 Russell (Williams) C5 – Total 119 laps
10. 1:20.107 Ricciardo (Renault) C3 – Total 77 laps
11. 1:20.167 Bottas (Mercedes) C2 – Total 7 laps
12. 1:20.332 Hamilton (Mercedes) C2 – Total 83 laps
13. 1:20.348 Hulkenburg (Renualt) C3 – Total 80 laps

Driver comments

Pierre Gasly

On the Honda PU, comparing to last year when driving at Toro Rosso:

“I am really happy with it. I can see all the improvements they have made through the winter. In terms of reliability, I think it’s been amazing so far, so fingers crossed it can stay like this for the next three days and also through the season. In terms of performance, it seems to be better as well, so we are all really happy with the job they have done.”

On working alongside experienced individuals like Adrian Newey:

“I would say it is productive, but also for me, it is only my second year if Formula 1, and to be next to people like Adrian, next to Max, who are a lot more experienced than me is really great. I think Adrian is just an amazing person, and engineer, so I am trying to ask him questions all the time I see him and trying to improve on my knowledge. As a driver, I’m going to develop lots during the season.”

Kevin Magnussen

On the seat/neck issues from Test 1:

“I have a problem with my neck because the headrest is pushing my head too far forward, so I’m in an uncomfortable position for braking. Under braking, my head is falling forward by the end of the day. We’ve made some changes, and it is much better this week than last week, but it is still happening, so I am still having to sit with my head forward a bit. After 134 laps, I could feel my neck.”

“It’s much better. Still not perfect, but we will get the other headrest for the race.”

On Reliability and the day’s running:

“I was able to just get all the way through the programme. It’s good to see the car is reliable. Obviously, we still need to put a lot more mileage on it to feel a bit more confident, but it’s good to see that on a day like this, we’ve completed the programme without problems.”

“They worked hard over the weekend to fix the problems that we had last week and it seems like we’ve made a step. We’ll see in the next coming days if we run into any other problems or if these issues start coming again, but it seems like we’ve made progress at least.”

On drivability, and following another car:

“They are fun to drive, still very fun to drive. I followed a car today and it really feels a lot better than last year. I felt a big difference. I could actually follow. I was a lot faster than the guy the I was following and I passed him on the lap that I caught him.”

“The whole car feels more consistent and stable behind another car. I’m looking forward to seeing if other tracks are the same. First signs are good on this following aspect.”

Antonio Giovinazzi

On working with Kimi:

“I’m trying to work together with Kimi and to listen to what he wants, and to try to follow him. Of course we are different drivers, we have different experience, but I think the best way for the team is to work together and in the same direction, and then we will have a faster car.”

On this year’s car:

“I think it’s too early to understand where we are in terms of performance. We have a good car and this is a good thing, but we will see. Maybe in the last two days of testing, we will know better.”