Spanish GP: Hamilton beats Vettel to pole by 0.051s

Lewis Hamilton beat Formula 1 title rival Sebastian Vettel to pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, after a thrilling qualifying battle.

Ferrari had set the pace in final practice at Barcelona’s Catalunya circuit, but Hamilton’s Mercedes held the advantage in qualifying after the first runs in Q3, lapping in a 1m19.149s time that would eventually stand for pole when Hamilton failed to improve on his second run.

Vettel suffered from a de-rating of his Ferrari’s energy recovery systems during his first Q3 run, and was a distant fourth quickest as a result, but he was lapping comfortably faster than Hamilton’s pole time on his final run before locking up at the final chicane.

Vettel eventually cut the timing beam in 1m19.200s, half a tenth down on Hamilton, apologising to his team for the mistake.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third fastest, recovering from a wild slide exiting the chicane on his first Q3 run to ultimately lap 0.173s slower than Vettel with a small improvement on his second run.

Bottas described his performance as “not good enough”, but it was enough to confine the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen to fourth.

Raikkonen suffered an oversteer moment at Turn 12 on his first Q3 run and lost time in sector two on his final effort.

Max Verstappen was well clear of Daniel Ricciardo in the private battle between Red Bulls to be fifth, while Fernando Alonso produced a superb performance to haul McLaren-Honda into Q3 for the first time this season and qualify seventh fastest.

Force India got both its cars into the top 10 again, sandwiching Felipe Massa’s ninth-placed Williams.

DANIEL RICCIARDO: “I HOPE THE UPGRADE WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO REALLY FIGHT”

Daniel Ricciardo heads to the Spanish Grand Prix feeling the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is amongst the best on the calendar as the layout offers a whole range of challenges on every lap.

The Red Bull Racing driver is also happy that his team can bring its Energy Station trackside for the first time in 2017, with the first four races being flyaway events in Australia, China, Bahrain and Russia, the Spanish circuit offering the opportunity for more privacy and better availability for training equipment.

“Barcelona is one of the better circuits on the calendar and it’s got a bit of everything,” said Ricciardo.  “Turns 1, 2 and 3 are really good flowing corners and the last section is very technical. The end of the lap is quite slow and that’s where your tyres start to drop off which is why it’s really hard to finish the lap clean.

“We’ll have the Energy Station back in Barcelona so that’s nice and it’ll be an easier environment to prepare in. We’ve got it now for a few months and that means that we can actually put some things in our room that we can come back to. Little things that give us privacy and that home feeling like favourite snacks, training equipment or our own shower.”

Ricciardo is hopeful that the planned upgrade Red Bull Racing are aiming to bring to Spain enables them to close the rather large gap between them and Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Scuderia Ferrari in 2017, with only the unsettled weather in China offering a chance for Red Bull to fight with those two teams ahead of them so far this season.

“I hope the upgrade will give us a chance to really fight with Mercedes and Ferrari or at least get us closer,” said Ricciardo.  “The reason why it comes in Barcelona is that we put everything back in the factory were very busy so now I hope that it’s a quicker improvement.

“It means that the people who do the work behind the scenes get their reward as well. It’s a good feeling for everyone when these upgrades work.”

Ricciardo does not believe that Pirelli’s decision to bring the hardest compound of tyre available to Spain will be beneficial for any of the teams on the grid, especially if it is held in relatively cold conditions, and as such the softer two compounds are likely to be the favoured ones this weekend.

“We’re going for the harder tyres for the first time this year in Barcelona,” said Ricciardo.  “I’m not sure if it’ll help us or not but I just don’t think it’s going to be good for anyone.

“The tyres are already hard enough so the harder compounds are just way too hard. Hopefully for Barcelona’s sake it’s hot and therefore these harder tyres work, but if it’s cold then it’s going to be a struggle for everyone

Vettel defends Raikkonen’s start to the season

Sebastian Vettel has said Kimi Raikkonen's poor start to the season is undeserved and has no doubts about the Finn's ability.

Just one podium finish has left Raikkonen 37 points adrift of team-mate and World Championship leader Vettel, but, according to the German, Raikkonen's results so far don't reflect the talent he still has.

"He probably didn't have the races he deserved," said Vettel. "In Bahrain obviously the start, the first lap cost him a lot, otherwise I'm sure he would've been on the podium.

"Obviously I see exactly what happens and things didn't go 100 percent in his direction so far but I don't think there's any doubt inside the paddock that he's one of the most talented drivers we have.

"I don't think anybody else could go to WRC and perform at the level he did, just come back and be right up to the pace again.

"I don't think there's anyone who doubts his skills or his talent but, as I said, you need to have a lot of things coming your way.

"If you look back last year, I had some races where things didn't come way – it's up and down but usually throughout the season it sort of equals out."

Vettel wins Australia for Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel won the Australian GP in Melbourne today, in his Ferrari, 9.9 seconds ahead of the polesitting Mercedes GP of Lewis Hamilton in second place and his team mate Valtteri Bottas (11.2s) in third place.

Vettel win is his first victory since Ferrari’s win in Singapore in 2015.

Kimi Raikkonen (22.3s) in the second Ferrari was fourth, followed by Max Verstappen (28.8s) in the Red Bull in fifth, Felipe Massa (83.3s) in the Williams-Mercedes in sixth, Sergio Perez (1 lap) in the Force India-Mercedes in seventh, Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso-Renault in eighth, his team mate Daniil Kvyat in ninth and Esteban Ocon in the second Force India scoring his first career point in tenth place.

Massa fastest on opening morning of Test Two

Barcelona Testing – Felipe Massa set the fastest time of the morning session on the opening day of the second pre-season test.

The Brazilian used the supersoft tyre in the final half hour of the session to set a 1:19.726; marginally slower than the fastest time of the first test – 1:19.705 set by Valtteri Bottas.

Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest having led for most of the session, sitting second on a 1:20.077 on the soft tyre. The Australian’s forst attempt at a lap on the ultrasoft tyre near the end of the sessionsaw him run into the gravel at Turn 4.

A second run saw him also go below 1:20 with a 1:19.900.

Lewis Hamilton was third, also on the soft tyre, with just under half a century of laps completed. Valtteri Bottas will take over for the afternoon.

Sebastian Vettel led the session in the early stages but finished the morning in fourth having done the most mileage with 82 laps.

Esteban Ocon was fifth for Force India, also completing more than 50 laps. The Frenchman had a late push on the supersoft tyre, keeping him ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in sixth.

Daniil Kvyat complete 45 laps for Toro Rosso, who are in need of the mileage after being hampered by several reliability issues in the first test.

Also putting in much-needed laps were Stoffel Vandoorne and McLaren, who had their best morning of pre-season testing so far. The Belgian driver put in 34 laps and just under three seconds off Massa’s pace on the soft tyre.

However, shortly after the chequered flag it was revealed that McLaren would need to change Vandoorne’s engine, which is most likely to cost the team most of their running for the rest of the day.

Pascal Wehrlein put in his first testing laps for Sauber after his recovery from a back injury he suffered during his crash at the Race of Champions in January.

The German spent most of the morning on the medium tyre before putting in some laps on the softs which saw his lap times slowly come down to a 1:23.336. He put in 47 laps for the session.

Jolyon Palmer could only put in 15 laps before his Renault ran into trouble. He started to slow as he came into the pit lane, and had to be pushed to the garage by his mechanics.

It was later revealed that Renault needed to change the engine in Palmer’s car, costing him most of his morning’s running. Team mate Nico Hulkenberg is due to drive in the afternoon.

Ferrari Formula 1 team evaluating new injection system

Ferrari is believed to be evaluating a 'double anchor' injection system for its Formula 1 engine that could be introduced later in 2017.

As it looks to bounce back from a frustrating 2016 campaign, Ferrari enjoyed an encouraging start to pre-season testing with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel setting the second- and third-fastest times at Barcelona last week.

Engine customer Haas says Ferrari has made a significant step with its new engine but there could be another significant performance leap to come.

Under the orders of president Sergio Marchionne, there has been a lockdown on Ferrari communication with the media, but word has leaked out of Maranello that efforts are under way to perfect a new type of fuel injector that has a double anchor.

While double jets are not allowed within F1 rules, this double anchor can deliver similar benefits, because the injector needle can be opened and closed with much greater precision.

This will reduce the possibility of excess fuel entering the chamber, which is then not burned perfectly.

The end result should be more power and less consumption, one of the keys to performance in the turbo-hybrid V6 era.

It is thought this new technology has not been tested on track yet, with the version of the engine that ran at Barcelona the standard version.

Both Ferrari and Haas completed the first week of testing using a single version of that 062 engine.

If work on the innovation is successful, it is possible Ferrari could introduce it alongside its Turbulent Jet Ignition concept for pre-combustion in the chamber.

While much of the focus this year has been on the aerodynamic changes, the higher drag of the 2017 cars means engine performance will also be a key part of the development race.

Lewis Hamilton says he has the 'best' working relationship with Valtteri Bottas

Lewis Hamilton believes his working relationship with Valtteri Bottas is already "better" than any of his past Formula 1 team-mates.

After four years alongside friend-turned-foe Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Hamilton is joined by Bottas for 2017 with the Finn considered one of the most apolitical drivers in the sport.

The pair spent their first week working alongside each other at a track when they shared driving duties at the first Barcelona test and Hamilton has given his fifth F1 team-mate an immediate ringing endorsement.

"What I so far like about working with Valtteri is that it is all to do with the track - what we do on the circuit - and not outside," Hamilton told the official F1 website.

"There are no games - there is complete transparency. I like that. I feel we already have a better working relationship than I ever had with any team-mate I had before.

"He wants to do the best thing that he can in his first year with the team - and with me being here for quite a while now, I want to deliver and make sure that I give as much information so that he will learn. And we do our talking on the track!"

The first Barcelona test pointed towards Mercedes retaining their speed advantage of recent seasons despite the overhaul of aerodynamic rules for this year.

Hamilton's two-year reign as world champion was ended by the now-retired Rosberg last November and the 32-year-old has made clear both his and Mercedes' desires to end 2017 ahead.

"Well, I am fitter, I am working harder than ever before and I am super focused and driven after last year - when I also worked hard through the year but didn't get the result I wanted," said Hamilton.

"So I want change and that is what the team and I are working so hard to achieve. I am not really sure, but I don't think that any team has ever won championships across rules changes - and that is the big goal for us."

Hamilton is the bookmakers' overwhelming favourite for the drivers' title and when asked what would satisfy him in the Australia season opener on March 26, Hamilton replied: "I want pole position, fastest lap, being fastest in every session - and to win!"

Mercedes plans big update push for second F1 test

Mercedes is set to bring a heavily updated Formula 1 car to the second pre-season test this week, as it bids to build on its strong start to 2017 running.

The German car manufacturer delivered impressive mileage and strong pace during this week's first Barcelona test, as it showed no signs that its advantage in F1 had been eroded by the all-new regulations.

But with a number of teams expected to bring new parts to the second test, it has emerged that Mercedes will be one of the outfits to bring a more extensive development package to lift its performance potential.

There have already been suggestions that the developments, allied to it pushing more on its engine maps, could deliver it a further two seconds.

Valtteri Bottas confirmed after last week's test that there was optimism about what was being planned for the second test – as the focus switches to performance.

"We are definitely hoping we can make good steps forward next week," he said. "From the running this week, it's tricky to make a detailed analysis of where we are compared to the other teams, and we don't know what other teams are bringing next week, or for Melbourne.

"Definitely we are aiming to improve day-by-day, and now we need to work on all the things we tried this week. For me also, I need to take everything in I learnt this week, which was a massive amount. We'll try to analyse all that and try to make myself better next week."

Topping first week has "no special meaning"

Bottas ended this week's test with the fastest overall time – 1m19.705s – with it widely predicted that laps will get down in to the 1m18s region next week.

Speaking about his performance, Bottas said he did not get too excited about having ended up fastest overall – as the most important thing for him right now was understanding the car.

"It does not have a special meaning, because it is only testing and there is no reward for that, really," he said.

"We weren't particularly focusing on the laptimes this week; the priority definitely for us all week was to get mileage in, plus work on any issues with the car if there's anything to come – because better here than in the races.

"For me it was also important to get the mileage, so I was happy to do plenty of running and going through the test programme of the team. So overall a good week.

"I learned a lot, plenty of laps. The times for me are what they are; maybe next week we can do a bit of laptime analysis on where we are.

"But what matters then is what people are bringing into Melbourne for their cars and what the performance is going to be there."

Ricciardo: It's going to increase everythin

Refusing to be drawn into making any kind of prediction as to where his team stands in relation to Mercedes, or any of the others, following the opening pre-season test in Barcelona, Daniel Ricciardo admits to being mighty impressed with the new cars.

"On the first day it was a bit too early to say whether the new cars really ticked all of the boxes the rule changes had in mind," he admits in a special feature for Red Bull, "but by my second day in the car, day three, I think I realised more of the potential of what these cars could be.

"It made me realise that the high-speed corners will be as quick as they've ever been, maybe even quicker," he enthuses. "Take Turn 3 at Barcelona for example - and we weren't exactly cruising through there before - Turn 3 last week was completely flat, no lift off the throttle at all.

"I haven't compared last year's data to this year's," he admits, "but it wouldn't surprise me if we were 35-40km/h quicker through there, and it was already a 220km/h corner last year with a big lift.

"It's a big jump, not a gradual one, and things will be coming at us pretty quickly at some circuits, that's for sure.

"It's going to increase everything... the intensity, the physicality, the fatigue factor, and I welcome that. It's cool, and it's what Formula One should be.

"We'll all adapt," he insists, "but there's no masking that it'll be a much more physical task this year, and that's good for the fans and for us drivers.

"Now that I have a taste for the 2017 car, I keep thinking of some of the other tracks we go to and what will be a big challenge for us. Sector two at Spa, downhill, Pouhon, that's one of my favourite corners anyway, and we'll have a chance to be full throttle through there – how good will that be!

"If we have a headwind into any of the big corners we come across, it makes a massive difference as to how full on the throttle we can be.

"Albert Park in a few weeks will be different because it's a lot more stop-start than Barcelona is, but across the back of the circuit at the chicane, that'll be pretty lively. The first part will be maybe a little downshift into sixth, the second part might be an upshift into seventh. A good place to be watching, I reckon. Mid-200s through there... the high-speed stuff is going to keep me pretty excited this year!"

Asked the inevitable, he admits: "Where do Red Bull sit compared to the others? I’m not 100 per cent sure, and nobody will be until we hit qualifying in Melbourne. Same as every year. Are we going to win in Australia by two laps? No, much as that would be awesome (I'll take it if anyone's offering. But we’re going to be pretty competitive. And now that I’ve had a chance to sample the new cars, I’m looking forward more than usual to my home GP.

"We had a few issues pop up on the days I was in the car," he admits, "so I haven't done a full race distance yet, the most laps I did in one stint was 18. But I know enough to know what these cars are going to be like, and my enthusiasm is pretty high, not that it was lacking before."

Kevin Magnussen not looking to befriend Romain Grosjean

Kevin Magnussen has said that he will not go out of his way to become "best friends" with his new F1 teammate.

Recent reports have suggested that the former McLaren and Renault driver often struggles to get along with colleagues.

Now, as the Dane switches to the small American team Haas, Magnussen is paired with Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

"Of course it's important to beat him, as it is important to beat every teammate," Magnussen, 24, told Danish newspaper BT.

"The relationship so far is as it should be. We must of course be open and work to bring the team forward, but we also have the freedom to race against each other and don't have to be best friends."

"But that doesn't mean we're against one another - not at all!"

In fact, Magnussen says that he expects his relationship with 30-year-old Grosjean to be similar to the way he worked alongside veteran Jenson Button at McLaren.

Some recall that Button 'helped' the then-rookie Magnussen adjust to life in F1.

"No," Magnussen insisted. "I remember there were many who thought Jenson helped me a lot in 2014, but he didn't do anything specific.

"There are some teammates who deliberately try to fuck you with incorrect information and so on, but Jenson did not and I have great respect for that.

"I do not know Romain particularly well yet, but I expect that it will be a bit like with Jenson."

Magnussen picked up seven points for Renault in the 2016 championship.

HAMILTON FASTEST MIDWAY THROUGH DAY 2 OF F1 TESTING

MONTMELO, Spain -- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time and the most laps through Tuesday's morning session of preseason testing.

Hamilton's lap of 1 minute, 20.983 seconds was 0.782 seconds faster than the leading time he set during the opening day of Formula One testing at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya on Monday.

As expected from the new regulations intended to boost speeds, Hamilton's pace through two days is more than a second faster than the top time set on the same track through eight days of preseason testing in 2016.

The three-time world champion will hand over the wheel of the Mercedes to new teammate Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon session.

Just like Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel from Day 1, Kimi Raikkonen was the nearest challenger to Hamilton's top speed, albeit almost two seconds slower.

Hamilton and Raikkonen also got in the most laps with 66 and 47, respectively, as Mercedes or Ferrari have yet to report any mechanical problems so far.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen could only muster the fifth fastest time.

While world champion Mercedes and Ferrari continue to outperform rival Red Bull, a pair of the more modest teams struggled to get their cars rolling.

Antonio Giovinazzi, who has substituted for Pascal Wehrlein while he recovers from a back injury, spent most of the morning waiting for Sauber to replace his car's engine. Jolyon Palmer's Renault, meanwhile, only emerged from the garage in the final minutes of the four-hour morning session.

The opening test will run through Thursday.

The track near Barcelona will host a second round of testing from March 7-10 before the season starts at the Australian Grand Prix on March 26.

Tatiana Calderon joins Sauber as a development driver... so, will she become the first female to start a Formula One grand prix since 1976?

Colombian Tatiana Calderon has joined Sauber in the role of development driver, hoping eventually to break the male domination of the Formula One starting grid.

'I look forward to working with the team and learning as much as I can. It is a step closer to my dream – one day competing in Formula One,' she said in a team statement on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old will race in the GP3 support series this season while also embarking on a Sauber programme that includes simulator training and working with engineers.

Swiss-based Sauber are the only team with a female principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, although former champions Williams are effectively run by founder Frank Williams' daughter Claire.

Sauber previously had Swiss racer Simona de Silvestro as an 'affiliated driver', aiming at bringing her to Formula One, but that ultimately came to nothing. She raced in the all-electric Formula E series and is now competing in Australia.

Lewis Hamilton delighted with new Mercedes car after fast start to 2017

Lewis Hamilton has lavished his new car, the W08, with praise after setting the quickest time on Day One of pre-season testing.

"Pretty happy with the work everyone's done with the car - it looks fantastic," 

"It feels great and there's lot of things we need to improve on, which we will, but a great first day to get that many laps in and our car looks the best, so I'm happy."

Despite only driving the new Mercedes car in the afternoon, Hamilton topped the timesheets with a time of 1:21.765 - a considerable improvement on the best time set in the entirety of winter testing at Barcelona 12 months ago and an immediate statement of ominous intent from the world champions.

"Firstly, people always want to big you up at the beginning of the season, two, we are world champions, and three, our car looks a thousand times better than anyone else's so that [people saying we are favourites] is to be expected," added Hamilton.

Ominously for their rivals, Mercedes not only set the fastest lap of the day but they also recorded more laps than any other team.

Although the sport's rule makers have demanded cars which are tougher to drive, Hamilton and new team-mate Valtteri Bottas completed in excess of race-distance equivalents in the W08.

"It's a much more beefed up version from the car we've had in the previous years. It's a lot more downforce, a lot faster through the corners. And that means a lot more load for the driver which is quite a considerable amount which is a good challenge," said Hamilton.

"It's harder to get the car into the corner, it's more force on the body, harder to hold your head up. It's just a lot more physical."

Hamilton was, however, doubtful that the faster, more aggressive machines will guarantee more overtaking in Formula 1.

"I was behind a couple of cars out there and it was harder to follow," the 32-year-old admitted. "Right now the tyres are so hard, they don't drop off, they just keep going and going.

"So most likely we're going to be doing a lot more one-stoppers as there's less degradation, and there's going to be less overtaking. That's my estimation but I might be wrong. We'll find out."

Fernando Alonso says McLaren 'disappointed' with start to testing

Fernando Alonso has conceded McLaren's "disappointing" start to winter testing means they are already playing catch-up in 2017.

For the second time in three years since their reunion with Honda, McLaren endured a problem-filled start to testing with their new car.

Alonso completed only 29 laps at Barcelona, the fewest of any driver, after an oil system problem which struck on the opening installation lap kept the MCL32 in the garage until mid-afternoon.

Although Alonso returned to the track intermittently in the day's closing two hours, the Spaniard said the team were running "very conservative" settings in order to check the car and be able to complete some running.

"It's definitely not the perfect start of winter testing," he told reporters after finishing 10th fastest out of 11 drivers.

"In terms of the performance point of view we have to concentrate and try to recover the time. We are disappointed, we are sad to arrive to the first day and not be able to run.

"We are aware of the time we lost today, we have four days for each driver before the World Championship starts and now one day is gone. So I have three days to prepare a World Championship, so it's not an ideal situation but it's the way it is. There is nothing more we can do from today more than learn from whatever happened to the car and try to recover the time in the next days."

The Spaniard and new team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne are scheduled to drive four days apiece in the car over the eight days of testing. Alonso said he would not ask the team to give him extra time in the MCL32, but suggested they would have to see how the rest of the week developed.

And although he said he had too much experience to overreact the results of one day of testing, he admitted the team had lost crucial time.

"It's the first day of testing, so you are not too worried or too excited," added Alonso. "Even if you are in a very good position or very good position, there is a very long way to go.

"But as I said, (I am) disappointed. You have been working for three months on your physical fitness, on your simulator, on your sponsor commitments, launching the car - I think everyone did an amazing job on this car for many, many months. Now you hit the track and go on the installation lap and something breaks down and you lose the day.

"The time is very important this year with the new regulations, the new tyres."

Alonso added he was not yet in a position to judge either the MCL32 or the redesigned Honda engine, although did express optimism that F1's new breed of faster cars had brought the thrill factor back to driving he has long claimed has been missing.

"The only conclusion is the cars look nice," he said. "They are definitely faster in the corners so it's good to come back to that feeling of the downforce and be able to push the car to the limit a little bit more, so I'm happy with that.

"I saw some other cars running alongside on the track and they look very, very good.

"So I'm happy for that, happy for the sport to go in the right direction, and (F1 should) probably apologise to the fans for the last five or six years when they saw horrible cars."

Fernando Alonso runs special helmet for F1 testing

Fernando Alonso is running a special camouflage helmet livery on the opening day of pre-season testing at Barcelona for the upcoming 2017 Formula One season.

In a move away from his usual helmet design -- which mainly includes the colours of the Spanish flag -- Alonso is sporting a one-off black and white camouflage helmet, as he completes first duties behind the wheel of the new 'Tarocco' orange and black McLaren MCL32, before Stoffel Vandoorne takes over on Tuesday.

Both drivers have already had a brief taste of driving McLaren's 2017 challenger on-track at the Circuit de Catalunya during a filming day on Sunday, ahead the first pre-season test at Barcelona this week.

LEWIS HAMILTON ENDS DAY ONE ON TOP

Lewis Hamilton ended the first day of pre-season testing on top with a lap time of 1 minute 21.765. The Briton took over the car from team mate Valtteri Bottas after lunch, racking up 73 laps compared to Bottas' 79.

Sebastian Vettel should be relatively happy with his day, as he finished a tenth behind the Mercedes. However, more importantly he clocked up 129 laps, the most of any driver today.

Felipe Massa was third with a fastest lap of 1 minute 22.076, and was the only other driver to surpass the 100 lap mark, finishing the day with 103 laps. Kevin Magnussen in the Haas was fourth, finishing on 51 laps. The Dane spun his car at turn 10, damaging the front wing but nothing major to halt progress.

Daniel Ricciardo had an initial scare at the start of the session when he was forced to park the car at turn 4 due to a sensor issue. A battery problem also emerged at around 3.PM, but the Australian still ended his day fifth with 50 laps.

Bottas was sixth, with his best lap time 1.404 seconds slower than his new team mate. Sergio Perez suffered from an exhaust issue in the afternoon, racking up 39 laps with his best lap time slotting him into seventh.

Toro Rosso's visually impressive new car was eighth with 52 laps to its name. Hulkenberg's Renault was ninth, setting five more laps that the above Toro Rosso.

McLaren started their pre-season in torrid circumstances when an oil issue was discovered in the car. Fernando Alonso was sidelined for many hours before coming back out, but only managed 23 laps which saw him finish in tenth.

Marcus Ericsson's Sauber managed 73 laps, ending the driver list from the first day of pre-season testing. Be sure to join us again tomorrow for day two.

Credits 

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EU commissioner rejects calls for probe into F1 sale

The European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has rejected calls by MEPs to launch an investigation into the sale of Formula One to Liberty Media Group.

Earlier this month the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted by 467 votes to 156 look into alleged "anti-competitive practices" in Formula One.

UK MEP Anneliese Dodds had led the push for a full enquiry into the way that Liberty acquired the sport. Among the issues raised by Dodds was the $80 million that the FIA received as a result of the sale which was suggested could have been a conflict of interest for the sport's government body.

"My concerns in relation to Formula One’s regulator, the FIA, are purely focused on the conflicts of interest that can arise when the regulator of a particular industry also has a financial stake in that same industry," Dobbs had explained.

The allegation was vehemently denied by the FIA who called such suggestions "inaccurately informed or malicious."

Vestager is reported to have concluded that the transaction "did not satisfy the turnover thresholds that must be met to fall within the Commission's jurisdiction".

However, the matter might not be entirely over as Vestager has indicated that it's a matter for individual nation states rather that something to be looked into an European Union level.

"The transaction was notified instead to National Competition Authorities in several Member States, namely Austria, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, all which approved it last year," Vestager explained.

Mercedes's new shark fin makes its début

The new 2017 Mercedes W08 Hybrid is back in action at pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this afternoon, only this time it's sporting a new addition in the form of a proper 'shark fin'.

The shark fin is a new feature of this year's Formula One cars as a result of the new tyre and downforce regulations that have been brought in over the off-season.

However Mercedes left the full fin off the car when it was photographed for its official launch, and it was also absent when Valtteri Bottas took the new car for its first test laps on Monday morning.

With Lewis Hamilton taking over the wheel for the afternoon session, the team has now installed the complete shark fin to compare it with the earlier running times to see what impact it makes.

Ferrari and Vettel top the time sheets mid-day!

Ferrari's new SF70H and Sebastian Vettel outpaced Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas as teams broke for lunch time on day 1 of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

The two men traded places at the top of the time sheets all morning with Bottas raking in 79 laps, while Vettel clocked in at 62 laps.

It's worth noting however that the Mercedes driver accomplished two long runs on soft tyres at one point, while Vettel stuck to the medium compound, edging out the Finn with a 1:22.791, the only sub-22 lap of the day so far.

Sergio Perez has been a consistent runner so far, but running a shorter distance compared to the men up front, with 39 laps put on the new Force India, the fastest of which was done on a set of soft tyres.

Red Bull's new RB13 was sidelined after just four laps with a sensor problem, while McLaren was hit by a more serious oil system issue which  prevented Fernando Alonso from acheiving anything more than an installation lap. The MCL32 was expected however to be back out on track this afternoon.

Haas' Kevin Magnussen was the first driver to hit the barriers in 2017 following a mishap which damaged the VF-17's front wing.

Track action will resume at 14:00 local time

F1 Pre-season Test Barcelona: F1 testing results [Monday 12pm]

Full testing times from the opening day of the 2017 F1 pre-season test from the Circuit de Catalunya, Spain – Day 1 - 12pm. 

1. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 23.169s (52 laps) 
2. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 23.560s (36) 
3. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 1m 25.573s (19) 

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4. Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes 1m 25.956s (17) 
5. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault-Renault 1m 26.319s (22) 
6. Carlos Sainz SPA Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 26.726 (14) 
7. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber-Ferrari 1m 27.710s (20) 
8. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-TAG 1m 28.712s (4) 
9. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari No time set (7) 
10. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda No time set (1) 

all times unofficial 

McLaren delayed by Honda oil system issue

McLaren's opening day of pre-season Formula 1 testing got off to a troubled start on Monday when its new car was stopped with a Honda oil system issue after just a single installation lap.

The Woking-based team had successfully completed a 100 kilometre filming day at Barcelona on Sunday, ahead of the proper start to testing today.

But although Fernando Alonso got out of the garage early on to prepare for the day's programme, after completing just a single lap back into the pits he was unable to return to action as Honda discovered a problem on the car.

A Honda spokeswoman said: "We have an oil systems issue which requires a full investigation.

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"We plan to run again today, but due to the difficult access location it will take several hours to resolve."

Honda has introduced an all-new engine for 2017, adopting the split turbine and compressor concept that Mercedes has put to great use under the new turbo hybrid rules.

Red Bull red flag

McLaren was not the only team to hit trouble on the opening morning of testing with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo bringing out the first red flag of the test.

The Australian stopped with a sensor issue after completing four laps, with his team's Renault team also introducing a new engine concept this year.