Vettel tops opening day in Barcelona (Update)

UPDATE This story has been updated.

Sebastian Vettel fastest on Day 1

02/22/16

Standing on his time from the morning of 1m24.939s at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit, Sebastian Vettel finished the opening day of 2016 pre-season Formula 1 testing fastest for Ferrari.

Sandbagging reigning champions Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes turned the most laps and was 2nd quick. Their goal is to never break down this year.

Lewis Hamilton said, "It's good to be back.

"It really had felt like a while – but now it feels like home already. I'm glad to see I can still drive! The car has been great so far. It's very similar to last year's – which is a good thing, as it gives us a great foundation to work from.

"The key is to get as much mileage as possible in the short time we now have for testing and we've made a fantastic start. The team has done an incredible job to get the car running the way it has – completing so many laps with no real problems. That's seriously impressive on the first day, so fingers crossed it continues. The tyres feel a little different and we'll work to understand them better in the coming days.

"Barcelona is one of the best circuits to test a new car, too. It's got a wide range of corners and the weather's always good, so overall it's been the perfect way to kick off the year. Of course, it's still early days. It's hard to say how the others look at this point and we won't know how competitive we are until everyone really starts pushing. But we're not looking too bad, that's for sure.

"Every season you have to assume is going to be the toughest competition yet, so that's how I'm approaching it. I hope the Ferraris are up there with me and Nico this year, as that would be exciting for the fans and exciting for me too."

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo finished 3rd, just over a second off the pace in an RB12 with Renault power badged TAG Heuer.

Valtteri Bottas was fourth ahead of Force India reserve Alfonso Celis Jr a solid fifth on his F1 debut.

"I’m feeling very happy with how things went today," said Celis.

Celis was a respectable 5th

"The start of the day was special when we launched the VJM09 and it was a big honour to be the first to drive the car. It was only my second day in a Formula One car, but I was able to enjoy the experience more than last time because I knew what to expect and I had a bit more confidence.

"The car was perfect today and I want to say a big ‘well done’ to everybody in the team for all their work over the winter to deliver this car. We managed to work through the whole plan with good reliability. I could not think of a better way to start the season and I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car on Thursday."

Jenson Button was 6th in his McLaren, the Briton also running the soft rubber for his best lap.

Button also clocked up 84 laps, five more than McLaren-Honda posted over all four days of last season's first test at Jerez ahead of what eventually proved to be a torrid year for the Japanese manufacturer on its return to F1.

Grosjean lost a front wing but a repair during lunch got him back on track

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 tire.

“It was a pretty exciting day," said Grosjean.

"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."

RESULTS DAY 1: