Formula One pre-season testing report: day one in Barcelona

Racing Post Sport will be rounding up the action on each of the eight days of F1 2019 pre-season testing at Barcelona as the countdown to the first race gets serious.

Day one highlights

Ferrari threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the F1 field as the 2019 cars hit the track for the first time. Sebastian Vettel was fastest of all on day one.

McLaren, eager to put some tough seasons in lower midfield behind them, will have been delighted to see new recruit Carlos Sainz second in the rankings, and more importantly, that he completed 119 laps after their recent pre-season efforts were dogged by technical troubles, although he did break down in the pit-lane once.

This one's a lowlight - Williams failed to turn up for the first day of track action, having earlier cancelled their planned running on a filming day. The team announced they have ongoing problems with their new car and will also miss Tuesday's session, joining the fray on Wednesday at the earliest.

Fastest lap times

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1.18.161
2 Carlos Sainz (McLaren) 1.18.558
3 Romain Grosjean (Haas) 1.19.159
4 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1.19.426
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1.19.462
6 Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1.19.635
7 Sergio Perez (Racing Point) 1.19.944
8 Valterri Bottas (Mercedes) 1.20.127
9 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1.20.135
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 1.20.980
11 Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) 1.20.983

• The 2019 F1 field is unveiled - team profiles

Market moves

It's only one day of evidence, but several firms cut Vettel's title odds and he is 7-2 from 4-1 to claim a fifth championship. His new teammate, Charles Leclerc, was cut from 17-2 to 7-1 by BoyleSports before he has even driven the Ferrari in a timed session.

Several firms were unimpressed with the opening effort of the Red Bull and its new Honda engine and Sky Bet eased Max Verstappen's title odds from 9-2 to 11-2.

Latest title betting (best prices)

10-11 L Hamilton, 7-2 S Vettel, 11-2 M Verstappen, 10 C Leclerc, 18 V Bottas, 33 bar.

What we learned

It's too early to draw any firm conclusions before a more consistent performance pattern emerges but there was nothing to dislike about Ferrari's fast start.

The renamed Alfa Romeo team (Sauber last year) gave the impression they could be among the stronger midfield teams.

There's no need for favourite-backers to worry about the Mercedes drivers being eighth and ninth on the day-one lists. That was in no way representative of their true potential and F1 fans can look forward to the day they start chasing lap times rather than working on longer runs.

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