Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo went faster and further than anyone else as Formula One started testing on Monday (February 26) while Fernando Alonso ended up in the gravel after a wheel came off his McLaren.
Ricciardo completed 103 laps of Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, the only driver to break into three figures on a day that started sunny but ended with rain and plunging temperatures.
Alonso provided the early headlines, returning to his home track with a smile a year on from a testing nightmare with Honda engines and becoming the immediate focus when his car’s right rear wheel came off.
The Spaniard remained cheerful after an accident that the team blamed on a simple wheel nut and said was no big deal, although he lost about three hours of track time while the damage was dealt with.
Alonso went back out again before the lunch break for a further four laps and ended the day with 49 under his belt as the rain limited what teams could do.
