Snowfall during the morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya resulted in Wednesday’s test running being delayed by three hours, with track activity extremely limited thereafter.
Mercedes was one of five teams who opted against taking to the circuit in exceptionally cold and wet conditions, and instead introduced a new member to the team – Karl Snowman.
Named after a member of the team, Karl became something of a paddock and social media star, appearing in Valtteri Bottas’ press conference, before posing for photos with the Finn.
Mercedes issued a post-session tongue-in-cheek press release in which Karl talked through the day in the Formula 1 paddock.
“Hands down this was the best day of my life,” said Karl.
“It's been over 10 years since I was last invited out to F1 testing – back in Silverstone in 2005 with Renault.
“It's not my first time in Barcelona, I was here in 2002 with McLaren when Mika [Hakkinen] started a snowball fight in the pit lane. But today has been the most fun yet.
“The team was really nice to me; everyone was so cool and chilled out. They gave me a warm welcome, but not too warm – just the way I like it.
“I don't quite understand why everyone made such a fuss about the weather. I mean what do people expect? There's a reason why it's called winter testing.
“I would also like to address the rumours about my wellbeing. Reports about my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
“I can assure everyone that the team is treating me extremely well and found appropriate accommodation in a cold storage unit for me.”
