Kimi Raikkonen topped the first day of the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tyre test on Tuesday as he posted a 1:37.768 on the new-for-2018 Hypersoft tyre.
The Ferrari driver is sharing test duties with team-mate Sebastien Vettel and will hand over the SF70H to the German for Wednesday's running.
Daniel Ricciardo was second quickest for Red Bull, just under three-tenths adrift, clocking 109 laps in the process.
Champion Lewis Hamilton was third quickest for Mercedes with a 1:38.551, almost eight-tenths down on Raikkonen's time, as he declared Pirelli's Hypersoft the best tyre the company had produced since it joined F1.
Romain Grosjean was fourth ahead of Lance Stroll and McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who, during the morning session, damaged his front-wing and brought out the red flags. He resumed running and completed 111 laps.
Robert Kubica made his public Williams debut as he clocked up 100 laps and finished ninth quickest, 1.7 seconds down on Stroll's laptime, but comparisons are difficult to make with the running focussed on Pirelli's 2018 compounds.
McLaren ran two cars during the test after receiving dispensation from the FIA after their Brazil tyre test was cancelled due to security concerns. Oliver Turvey piloted that car to 12th, though he carried out development testing for Pirelli.
Pirelli Tyre Test – Day 1 (Yas Marina)
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:37.768 | ||
2 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:38.066 | 0.298 | |
3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:38.551 | 0.783 | |
4 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:39.270 | 1.502 | |
5 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:39.580 | 1.812 | |
6 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:39.762 | 1.994 | |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:39.803 | 2.035 | |
8 | Nikita Mazepin | Force India | 1:39.959 | 2.191 | |
9 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1:41.296 | 3.528 | |
10 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso | 1:41.428 | 3.660 | |
11 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:41.681 | 3.913 | |
12 | Oliver Turvey | McLaren | 1:41.914 | 4.146 |