Circuito de Jerez: Testing Day One

After taking three years away from Formula One, Kimi Raikkonen returned to the track today and proved to many that he still has what it takes to compete. With only 74 laps run over day one at testing in Jerez, Raikkonen was able to hold fastest speed at 1:19:670 (set in the morning session).

Over the course of day on testing the only other team and driver to break the 1:20 lap time barrier was Paul di Resta in his VJM05.

Many people do not take pre-season testing as foreshadowing what is to come in the season ahead but with the top three times being set by mid pack teams, it would be fantastic to see a season of total unknowing. The 2011 season, it was Sebastian Vettel in front nearly ever race. For the small team to become mid pack (Caterham) and the mid pack to come out in front would be spectacular.

Jerez testing day one only saw two red flags during running time. Daniel Riccardo (whom set 5th quickest time in his Toro Rosso) was first to see the red flag as his  STR7  came to a halt on track with a drop in oil pressure that cause the engine protection system to shut down the car.

Second red flag on track was brought about by Kamui Kobayashi in his Sauber. Kobayashi's C31 came to a halt after the car ran out of fuel (in what was likely a fuel consumption test by the team).

The only other notable issue running in Jerez today came at the dismay of Caterham. Heiki Kovalainen's Caterham had an issue with the starter shaft and ceased any running of the CT01 in the final couple hours on day one.

Octane Photo's galley of testing day one here!

Times

	Driver	Car	Time	Laps
1.	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus E20	1:19.670	74
2.	Paul di Resta	Force India VJM05	1:19.772	101
3.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes W02	1:20.219	56
4.	Mark Webber	Red Bull RB8	1:20.496	54
5.	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso STR7	1:20.694	57
6.	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes W02	1:20.794	42
7.	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber C31	1:21.353	106
8.	Jenson Button	McLaren MP4-27	1:21.530	61
9.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari F2012	1:22.815	69
10.	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham CT01	1:23.178	28
11.	Pastor Maldonado	Williams FW34	1:23.371	25
12.	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT F111	1:23.676	44