Test 1, Day 2: Raikkonen fastest with softest rubber
The second day of testing for the Formula One teams was another productive day, with good weather and solid reliability both present at Circuit de Catalunya.
After Sergio Perez went fastest in the morning session, Kimi Raikkonen got the better of him in the afternoon. The Finn did however need the softest Pirelli tyre available to slice 3 tenths off of the Mexican's best. Good for the headlines, but not for any other conclusions - except for Alfa itself, who obviously know which fuel loads and settings were used.
Beyond the times, Alfa Romeo had a good day, with 134 laps under the belt for their Finnish driver. The other 'alfa' team, Scuderia AlphaTauri had Pierre Gasly in the cockpit for the first time, and things went smoothly for him as well. The Frenchman reported to be comfortable straight out and ended the day with 147 laps.
Still, the busiest day of all was for Romain Grosjean. The Haas driver lapped around the Barcelona circuit 158 times to get to know the VF-20. Needless to say there were very few issues for him as well.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were low profile today, with only the 9th and 13th best times. They did however complete a massive amount of laps while the team ended up in the spotlight when their new dual axis steering (DAS) was uncovered.
By comparison, Renault had a quiet day, and with just 93 laps shared among its two race drivers, they completed the least mileage of all teams today.
At Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel had his first testing time with the SF1000, completing 73 laps in the afternoon after team mate Charles Leclerc completed the morning duties.
