DAY ONE OVERVIEW
| Date | Monday 18 February 2019 |
| Driver | Carlos Sainz |
| Location | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.655km/2.892 miles) |
| Laps/km/miles | 119/554km/344 miles |
| Best laptime | 1m18.558s |
PROGRAMME
A solid first day of pre-season testing in the McLaren MCL34 for Carlos Sainz, who completed 119 laps.
The MCL34 was the first of the nine cars on track as it opened at 09:00 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The team completed the necessary installation and systems checks in quick succession, before moving on to aero correlation and data capture.
Shortly after lunch, Carlos stopped briefly out on track after reporting a loss of drive, but the issue – a loose cable – was quickly rectified and he returned to the track to continue his testing programme.
The team completed the scheduled items on its run plan for the day, and will debrief overnight before handing the reins to Lando Norris tomorrow morning.
CARLOS SAINZ, #55
“It looks like our hard work has paid off today. It’s been a very positive start as we’ve been able to run without big issues, play a bit with the set-up of the car and gather data to analyse. Good job everyone, because almost 120 laps on the first day is a good step.
“There’s still a lot of margin to improve the car. Following today’s work, we know more clearly the direction we want to try. Now we have the information for a strong debrief, so we will keep working and moving forward.”
GIL DE FERRAN, Sporting Director
“Today was a positive day, where we completed nearly every test we had planned, and had very few issues to contend with.
“Carlos is acclimatising well to the team. Bearing in mind that this is his first official day of 2019 as a McLaren driver, having a high-mileage, trouble-free run is a very satisfying outcome following the hard work everyone has put in over the winter.
“Similarly to today, we have an extensive plan pencilled in for Lando tomorrow, as he drives the MCL34 for the first time.
“All-in-all, today was a good first step for our team in 2019.”
TODAY'S OFFICIAL TESTING TIMES
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:18.161s | 169 laps |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 1:18.558s | 119 laps |
| 3 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:19.159s | 65 laps |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:19.426s | 128 laps |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1.19.462s | 114 laps |
| 6 | Danil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:19.464s | 77 laps |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 1:19.944s | 30 laps |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:20.127s | 69 laps |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:20.135s | 81 laps |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:20.980s | 65 laps |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:20.983s | 44 laps |
WHAT'S NEXT?
Lando will step into the cockpit of the McLaren MCL34 tomorrow for the first time, on day two of testing.
TEST DATES
Four days (Monday 18 - 21 February 2019).
