March 1, 2017 – Valtteri Bottas put Mercedes back on top on the third day of the first Formula 1 pre-season test in Barcelona as he produced a blistering lap on the purple ultra soft tyres.
Bottas’ laptime was 0.2 seconds quicker than Sebastien Vettel’s best effort on the yellow soft tyres, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo settled for the third best time, also on the softs.
Mercedes remained the team to beat in terms of mileage as the W08 racked up 170 laps. The second closest was the Ferrari, which managed 139 laps.
The test was interrupted by four red flags caused by an off for Renault’s Jolyon Palmer, followed by a crash for Williams’ Lance Stroll, a stoppage for Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and a last-minute stoppage for Ferrari.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottas | Mercedes | 1:19.705 | 75 | US |
| 2 | Vettel | Ferrari | 1:19.952 | 139 | S |
| 3 | Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:21.153 | 70 | S |
| 4 | Palmer | Renault | 1:21.396 | 51 | S |
| 5 | Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:21.791 | 42 | S |
| 6 | Ericsson | Sauber | 1:21.824 | 125 | SS |
| 7 | Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:22.090 | 95 | S |
| 8 | Grosjean | Haas | 1:22.118 | 56 | SS |
| 9 | Stroll | Williams | 1:22.351 | 98 | S |
| 10 | Alonso | McLaren | 1:22.598 | 72 | US |
| 11 | Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:23.540 | 32 | M |
| 12 | Celis Jr | Force India | 1:23.619 | 70 | S |
| 13 | Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:23.952 | 31 | M |
