Wehrlein leads first day in Austria test
Mercedes driver Pascal Wehrlein led the way after 67 laps in the first of the two-day test in Spielberg, the last in-season test of the season, in rain-hit session.
The opening day of F1 testing at the Red Bull Ring had many delays and interruptions as the weather showed its worse side since teams arrived, causing a red flag to stay out for over four hours in the morning. The rain also resulted in a two-hour extension to the day.
Regarding the action, Wehrlein set a personal best of 1:11.005 to secure P1 ahead of Force India’s debutant Esteban Ocon, and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen.
Another driver making his debut was GP3’s Antonio Fuoco, who had a difficult time and crashed at Turn 1. He did go onto completing 71 laps though.
For McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne went on to do 76 laps in the most productive session for the team after an awful Grand Prix.
Meanwhile it was Williams with a very interesting addition to their car - as they featured a winglet on the rear floor just ahead of the car’s rear wheels (apparently legal) - and it was Susie Wolff who got a change to test it.
Tuesday testing times:
1. Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes — 1:11.005, 67 laps
2. Esteban Ocon, Force India — 1:11.192, 76 laps
3. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso — 1:11.328, 97 laps
4. Antonio Fuoco, Ferrari — 1:11.331, 71 laps
5. Romain Grosjean, Lotus — 1:11.509, 45 laps
6. Pierre Gasly, Red Bull — 1:11.757, 80 laps
7. Raffaele Marciello, Sauber — 1:11.826, 53 laps
8. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren — 1:12.530, 76 laps
9. Susie Wolff, Williams — 1:13.248, 39 laps
