Haas F1 Barcelona Test No. 1: Day 1 Recap

Romain Grosjean takes the Haas F1 Team ride out on the track for the first time at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.[Credit: LAT Photographic]

Overview
Date: Monday, Feb. 22
Location: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya
Layout: 4.655-kilometer (2.89-mile), 16-turn circuit
Driver: Romain Grosjean
Laps Completed: 31
Distance Completed: 144.305 kilometers (89.7 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:28.399
Fastest Lap: 1:24.939 by Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Ferrari)
Most Laps: 156 by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Rundown
After a physical unveil of the VF-16 at 7:50 a.m. CET, Haas F1 Team hit the track for its first official test at 10 a.m. sharp with Romain Grosjean at the wheel. The Ferrari 061 turbo V-6 ran flawlessly, providing a valuable reconnaissance lap for the team to check all the car’s systems. Twelve laps were made prior to the lunch break, and on the sixth lap, Grosjean recorded his fastest lap of the day (1:28.399). More laps would’ve been made, but a front wing failure cut the stint short. After careful analysis, a diagnosis was made and a new wing was reengineered for the afternoon. The quick work allowed Grosjean to make three five-lap runs, the last one coming with 24 minutes remaining in the session. When the clock struck 6 p.m. and the track went cold, Grosjean was credited with 31 laps, all on the Pirelli P Zero White medium.

Romain Grosjean: Driver, No. 8…
“It was a pretty exciting day. The morning went very well until we had a small front wing failure. It compromised our afternoon a little, but it was good that we could put some laps on the car later. We don’t have any big problems. I’m very happy with the first day. It’s been a really good start for the team. It’s been a positive day. Of course, you always want more and more, but I think the most important thing is that I’m happy with the car. The first impression is really good. The car balance is there straight away.”

Guenther Steiner: Team Principal…
“We had a good start to the day and then we had a problem with the front wing. Obviously, we had to stop and evaluate the problem and find a solution. We found an interim solution, but we will have to find a solution by tomorrow morning. We got out running again and got a lot of data. It would have been nice to run more, but we still got some laps under our belt and we look forward to tomorrow.”

Next Up
Esteban Gutiérrez takes the wheel of the VF-16 Tuesday in preseason testing at Barcelona. Testing runs through Thursday, with Grosjean back in the car on Wednesday and Gutiérrez in on Thursday. After a four-day break, teams return to Barcelona for a second and final round of preseason testing March 1-4. Gutiérrez will drive March 1-2 and Grosjean finishes up the test March 3-4.

RacingNation Crew

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