Hamilton Hottest In First F1 Test

Lewis Hamilton fired a warning shot to his rivals by finishing on top over the four days of Formula 1 testing in Spain last week, insisting this year’s car is faster than last year’s title-winning machine.

- Robert Ladbrook

The four-time champion set an ominous early pace by posting the fastest time across the four days on the final afternoon run on Pirelli’s medium-compound tyre.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo topped day one, also on the mediums, while Sebastian Vettel’s day-two best was set on softs, and in considerably warmer temperatures compared to Hamilton’s benchmark.

Many teams lost mileage across the test with severe weather halting almost all activity for the entirety of day three, when snow coated the circuit and led to the day starting three hours late. When the track did go green, Fernando Alonso’s McLaren was the only car to set a time in wet and freezing conditions.