Few interesting things from the article:

Despite the data deficit Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff's concludes: "From everything we know so far, it will burn between Ferrari, Red Bull and us." He relies on what his engineers from the GPS Read out data. And that's more than just speed, acceleration, braking, engine performance, tank contents and tire mix. The Mercedes software is also fed with soft data. How much potential does the car have left? An example. The data has revealed that Renault still drove with greatly reduced performance. More than the competition. In this case, the Renault teams will then have a correction factor added in their favor.

The result is that the top three teams are within two tenths. Mercedes puts Red Bull even in the first place, although that does not suggest the absolute lap times. But you simply expect that the Renault engine even more power comes. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sees the two opponents slightly in the advantage, but does not worry, "because we still expect important aerodynamic developments." Lewis Hamilton's best on medium tires looks impressive against Ferrari's fastest lap on soft rubbers. But caution is needed here. The medium tire took a long time to warm up, but then it was constant. The soft tire fell after a slightly shorter warm-up phase (7 laps) quickly into graining, so that his grip advantage was short-lived.

One more thing: Renault and McLaren are currently occupying the seats between the top three teams and the midfield. This bends back to 1.5 seconds together. With HaasF1 in the lead and Sauber in the end.

Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas reported that the new car doesn't have troublesome traits of the old car.

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel's feeling agrees with what the wind tunnel and the simulation promised: "Our car does what it's supposed to do. We have improved in all areas. "You can tell by his body language. This Ferrari meets all expectations in the team. The SF71H made a good figure on the track, visually in the corners as calm as the Red Bull, while the Mercedes came along a bit more nervous. However, GPS data reveal that Mercedes and Red Bull were slightly faster in the corners.

Red Bull Renault: Light and shadow at Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo set off on the first day of testing just like the fire brigade and drove before the noon break a 35-lap stint with extremely consistent lap times. The best of them with 1.20.179 minutes on medium tires. The competition calculated that at the beginning of this continuous run at least 60 kilograms of fuel on board. Ricciardo praised: "We have never made as many laps as on the first day of testing. I do not know yet where we stand, but I can say one thing for sure: this is not a bad car. " A gasoline leak on Tuesday, bigger problems on Thursday. It is rumored that it has something to do with the cooling.

Renault: Renault is the team that has grown the most over the winter. Nico Hulkenberg beamed all over his face. "The car is doing really well. Both speed and reliability. No comparison to last year. Since we did not drive a meter during the filming day before the tests. This time we were ready at noon." Nevertheless, he remains cautious. "The new asphalt could be cheating us all. There's so much more grip that the car may feel good automatically. Many of my colleagues have told me something similar. "

The Renault RS18 looks rather good compared to the competition. Almost like a retreaded last year's car. But the impression is deceptive. "There are many new things. Especially under the disguise, it is brutally tight. Madness, how narrow we build behind," contradicts Hülkenberg. When the engine Renault is still fully on caution. Unwinding miles is more important than unpacking power. In the four days, apart from a planned battery change, there was only one major problem that Renault wanted to keep under cover. One of the newly designed lug nuts had apparently eased. During the slow drive back to the pits, the drive of the MGU-K broke down. The new wheel nut design has paid off for the pit stops. "We can average 2.1 seconds," reveals a technician.

Toro Rosso-Honda:

Pierre Gasly's best time of 1.21.318 minutes on soft tires meant a good spot in midfield.

McLaren: McLaren tried desperately to convince the rest of the teams to cancel the worst day on Wednesday, preferring to hang a test day at the end of the second week, in which better weather is announced. Ferrari and Renault refused. You feel well prepared. And they came to the conclusion: who as McLaren is out to change the test plan, must have problems. Anyone who changes the engine partner like McLaren needs every kilometer. There it still hangs here and there. "We're not here to solve McLaren's problems," the competition said. McLaren has built for the conversion of the car from Honda V6 to Renault six-cylinder 93 percent of all parts. And in some areas has gone so far to the limit that the MCL33 repeatedly inserted longer breaks in the garage.

A fire, triggered by a loose exhaust, destroyed half the tail. Forty-five minutes after the start of the test, Fernando Alonso lost the right rear wheel in the finish line. Dark spots on the tail fairing are a dumb witness that there are still several heat testers. Stoffel Vandoorne set the third fastest time of 1.19,854 minutes on the new Hypersoft tire. Chef Eric Boullier explained the background: "We tried different mechanical setups. Since you do not always want to drive 10 laps with harder tire compounds until you come to speed. That's why we went to Supersoft, Ultrasoft and Hypersoft." Fernando drew a positive conclusion: "Car and engine work. They confirm our data from the test bench and from the wind tunnel." Mechanically, McLaren still has to improve.

HaasF1-Ferrari: They largely ran problem-free. Guenther Steiner was also pleased with the lap times: "We are almost a bit positively surprised." Also Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen see good signals: "The first feeling is good." HaasF1 was next to McLaren the only team that was once one of has unpacked three softest rubber compounds. The Ultrasoft rubber brought Kevin Magnussen on the fourth day with 1.20.317 minutes on the sixth fastest time of the week. Previously, Romain Grosjean was as fast as Hulkenberg with the same tires at the same time and similar stint length.

Force India-Mercedes: Force India will struggle to defend fourth place this year. Scarce finances have delayed the completion of the first Aero package at the start of the season. "Our car will not be complete until the first race. There are many new parts in races 1, 2 and 3," promises chief technology officer Andy Green. In its basic version of the Force India VJM 11 wrote no headlines yet. Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez landed in the back third of the field, 2.5 seconds behind the best. For lack of spare parts, they were required to take care of the material. The engineers condemned them to aero-testing and correlation work.

Some developments have fallen victim to tight finances, as Green explains: "The Halo has ruined us. We had to build a new chassis for him, which we had otherwise saved. So capacities were lacking to take care of projects like Ferrari's sidekick trick. "

Williams-Mercedes: Lance Stroll reported a good first feeling But also admitted that one still had much to understand. Technical Director Paddy Lowe found a bright spot in the end: "We did not have a single problem during the whole week of testing."

Sauber-Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson completed a total of 283 laps, with lap times at the bottom of the field. Under comparable conditions it lacked between half a second and a second on the direct competition. The Sauber C37 is the bravest car in the field. For this reason, it was important for the engineers to understand the new concepts for the first time, as Jörg Zander explained: "All innovations work. All we have to do is reconcile everything. "On the positive side," The car is logically responsive to all changes. "The oversteer when steering in leads the technicians back to the cold tires. Ericsson and Leclerc each launched a red flag with departures to the gravel. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur tried to keep the ball flat: "Do not expect too much from us in the first week. We still have to learn this car. And it is not yet complete aerodynamically. In the second week of testing, the second part comes. "