Lap time watch: 2018 pre-season testing day one

Very cold temperatures at the Circuit de Catalunya meant the opportunity for performance running was severely limited.

On top of that the track has been resurfaced: It’s much smoother, some corners have had camber changes and the kerbs have been altered in places.

So trying to break down how much performance team have gained or lost through aerodynamic development, power unit development, tyre development, fuel levels, track changes, weather conditions and so on is futile.

But all the teams were running on the same track at the same time, just as they did last year both in pre-season testing and at the Spanish Grand Prix. These give us some useful data points which, over the course of the eight days of testing this week and next, can build up into a picture of who’s got the best car ‘out of the box’. Let’s see what day one revealed.

How much quicker are they than last year?

On the first day of testing for the 2018 F1 season one team lapped quicker than it did at last year’s race at the same track. This was Renault, as Nico Hulkenberg managed a time 0.85s than the lap which put his 13th on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

It’s an early sign that they’re sustaining a recent trend. Renault was the most-improved team last year: On average they were 3.2 seconds per lap quicker across the season.

Of course Renault’s performance on day one doesn’t signal a great season ahead for them. But by the end of testing we should be able to draw some useful conclusions about what kind of winter the teams have had, if not the year head.

This is neatly illustrated by the fact Renault was the most-improved team in testing last year and Ferrari were second, a pattern which held across the season. But Williams, the third-most improved team in testing, had a poor year of development and ended up bottom of the pile in terms of year-on-year gains. Conversely McLaren, who were the least-improved team at the end of a dire pre-season test last year, made some progress during the season and ended up in the top half in terms of progress.

Wheel nut glitches aside, the early signals were promising for McLaren too. They’ve already beaten their best time from this test last year, albeit by a mere nine-thousandths of a second.

How much quicker are they than 2016?

Watch out for a much-improved performance from Force India when their race drivers get behind the wheel over the coming days. However even colder conditions forecast – so much so that some teams want to extend the test in search of better weather.

Mileage watch

Laps covered rather than lap times is arguably the more significant measure of how well the teams are doing at this point. As well as setting the quickest time today, Red Bull also covered the most ground as Renault prioritised reliability from their new power unit.

Toro Rosso also had a good first day. While McLaren struggled with their Honda power unit 12 months ago, Red Bull’s junior team hit the ground running with its STR13.

2017 F1 season

• Sepang pays Haas compensation for Grosjean’s 2017 crash
• Williams revenues rose in 2017 after Bottas deal with Mercedes
• Australian Grand Prix cost government £56 million last year
• “Grand Prix Driver” takes you inside McLaren’s nightmare final year with Honda
• Undisputed champion: 10 titles name Hamilton top driver of 2017