2016 F1 season: 1st pre-season test

The first day of testing has now ended. It's Vettel who tops the timesheets, with Mercedes' Hamilton managing the most laps, at over 150.

It's always worth having a look at a Red Bull front wing! Here's a shot from our friends @octanephotos #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/6N9K4XgYHF
— FormulaSpy.com (@formulaspy) February 22, 2016

ONE HOUR TO GO

Hamilton has put in 137 laps already, almost double the amount of the next busiest driver #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/pAwte5N8ip
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

1 hour 20 minutes to go... #f1 #f1testing pic.twitter.com/vx2N3EciF5
— FormulaSpy.com (@formulaspy) February 22, 2016

Red Bull's Ricciardo has moved up to third, and despite Hamilton having done far more laps than Vettel has been unable to beat the German's fastest time so far.

HOW THEY STAND:

1 VET
2 HAM
3 RIC
4 BOT
5 SAI
6 BUT
7 ERI
8 GRO
9 CEL
10 WEH
11 PAL#F1Testing #F1IsBack pic.twitter.com/rlqc74qBjF
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

WEH now moves up to P10 with a 1.29.824 #F1Testing #F12016 #F1
— F1 Hub (@F1Hub) February 22, 2016

Carlos (Car 55) is currently P5 and has completed 55 laps. And yes, his favorite number is 5 😉😉👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/edpH21BBqI
— Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) February 22, 2016

Although Vettel still sits atop the fastest times, it's Hamilton who has completed over a 100 laps on track today.

More track action planned for Pascal this afternoon. Meanwhile, plenty of microphone action for Rio. pic.twitter.com/Fm9TbiUq57
— Manor Racing (@ManorRacing) February 22, 2016

As #F1Testing continues, the work in the fitting area never stops #pzero @Circuitcat_eng pic.twitter.com/NzsbheIkoR
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) February 22, 2016

BACK ON (THE) TRACK@RenaultSportF1 are back, ladies and gentlemen...#F1IsBack #F1Testing https://t.co/1dvXthZxFK
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

Sebastian Vettel #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/vHERuFQjCk
— Laura (@andersonlaura12) February 22, 2016

Sainz Jr of Toro Rosso has so far set better times than Button in his McLaren, with Eric Boullier saying he still feels they are "not good enough."

MOST LAPS COMPLETED SO FAR:

HAM 79
SAI 50
VET 43
BOT 43
ERI 39
BUT 35
RIC 31
CEL 21
PAL 15
GRO 13
WEH 8#F1Testing pic.twitter.com/qJ2WMq99e7
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

And Ferrari have some good sound as well - but everyone's talking about McLaren, who have seen the most marked improvement since last year.

Empty garage can only mean one thing... straight back to business for @LewisHamilton! #WeAreW07 #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/6rlJhrOKjj
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) February 22, 2016

New tires this year mean one more compound for teams and drivers to play with..and there's a new Grand Prix on the schedule too, which means more scope for experimentation.

The usual Pirelli Sport tyre range now includes a new purple cousin...its called the supersoft! #F1 #f1testing pic.twitter.com/A0rMu0vEsi
— FormulaSpy.com (@formulaspy) February 22, 2016

Look who I found... @McLarenF1 #MP431 is officially the loudest on track! 😍 @JensonButton #F1Testing #F1TestDays pic.twitter.com/NjXFzlpgQp
— Jessica | #JB17 (@parisianskies) February 22, 2016

CLASSIFICATION: MORNING SESSION, DAY ONE #F1IsBack #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/HvZ47hvWcu
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

Classification and laps completed:
VET: 36
HAM: 66
BOT: 43
RIC: 20
SAI: 35
BUT: 35
ERI: 36
GRO: 13
CEL: 21
PAL: 15
WEH: 8#F1Testing
— Circuit BCN-CAT EN (@Circuitcat_eng) February 22, 2016

McLaren have been running well all morning, clocking a respectable 35 laps and a best time of 1m27.6 with the MP4-31. #F1Testing
— The PitCrew Online © (@PitCrew_Online) February 22, 2016

Hamilton has completed 64 laps already.

Vettel has finished 36 laps, with Mercedes' Hamilton second fastest after him.

It's now lunch break for drivers at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel has set the fastest time.

It's time for lunch! Marcus completed 36 laps in the morning mainly focusing on set-up work #F1 #F1Testing
— Sauber F1 Team (@SauberF1Team) February 22, 2016

FACT TIME: Current pace-setter Vettel has already beaten the pole position time set at the 2014 Spanish GP by three tenths. #F1Testing #F1
— FormulaSpy.com (@formulaspy) February 22, 2016

According to those at the track, it's McLaren's MP4-31 that's the loudest at the track - could the sound be a portend of big things to come?

And the Manor livery is quite reminiscent of the Toleman of old!

It's Haas who have caused the first red flags of the test with Romain Grosjean losing a chunk of his front wing.

Unusual airscoop on the new Renault RS16. #F1 #F1testing @octanephotos pic.twitter.com/hyhAuWgvLl
— FormulaSpy.com (@formulaspy) February 22, 2016

Huge moment for @PWehrlein as he heads out for his first lap as a full-time @ManorRacing driver... #F1IsBack https://t.co/TreMQK7r9Y
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

Positive news for McLaren-Honda so far. Well into the first test, the car has seen no problems.

.@RGrosjean in the Haas VF-16#F1 #F1Testing #AMuS pic.twitter.com/KFZPYGn7Km
— Jason Hanifin #44 (@SennaV10F1) February 22, 2016

LAPS COMPLETED SO FAR:

HAM: 28
SAI :17
VET: 15
RIC: 14
PAL: 11
BOT: 7
BUT: 3
CEL: 2
ERI: 2
GRO: 1
WEH: 1#F1IsBack pic.twitter.com/x4wqxJtHXK
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

UPDATE: FASTEST SESSION TIMES

VET 1:25.206
HAM 1:25.409
BOT 1:26.091#F1IsBack pic.twitter.com/dBhtoZcxwN
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2016

Ahead of the lunch break, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel have posted the fastest times, with Valtteri Bottas behind them in third.

And it's a narrow and long nosecone, like that of Mercedes.

Manor, who will have brand new drivers in Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto, also reveal their 2016 car.

Haas' car looks fairly similar to Ferrari's SF16-H in structure, which many may have been expecting..

Away they go! @grosjeanromain takes the Haas VF-16 🇺🇸 for a spin at @circuitdebcncat #F1IsBack #F1Testing #F1 #Form… pic.twitter.com/aO9Rc0CA90
— Raddie (@raddie_cz) February 22, 2016

The only new team on the grid, American-owned Haas F1, had shared images of its car on the internet - now Romain Grosjean will drive it in person in the first look.

First today was Red Bull Racing's RB12, which has a more matte livery compared to last year. It's also changed prime sponsorship; it'll carry Tag Heuer branding to de-emphasize the Renault relationship.

Although a number of cars were unveiled in the past week, several teams have waited until today's pre-season test to break cover!