Why unloved Lotus 76 may be Colin Chapman's most significant car
A wide variety of Lotus cars are often proffered as the ultimate F1 game-changer – but was the Lotus 76 an unusual candidate which trumps them all?
Sebastian Vettel posted the fastest time of the two-day Abu Dhabi Pirelli Formula 1 test while 2018 Sauber prospect Charles Leclerc completed 149 laps
Vettel’s time of 1min 37.551sec was set 22 laps into the morning of his 118 lap stint. Valtteri Bottas followed, nearly a second back with 141 laps under his belt, and Max Verstappen was third, 1.185sec off the pace after 132 laps.
Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen set the fastest time on Tuesday, with an effort of 1min 37.768sec.
Robert Kubica, in seventh, continued his F1 push with another 28 laps for Williams while Sergey Sirotkin, who is also in the running for the Williams seat next season, made his debut for the squad with 86 laps to finish 10th.
Charles Leclerc completed the most laps of the day with 149 for Sauber – which will be known as Alfa Romeo Sauber from 2018. Sauber has not yet confirmed its 2018 line-up but it is understood that the Formula 2 Champion is in contention.
McLaren ran two cars again, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris turning 223 laps between them at Yas Marina.
Toro Rosso rounded out the bottom of the standings in the final day of F1 testing on Wednesday, with Brendon Hartley 13th and team-mate Pierre Gasly 14th.
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps | Tyre |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m37.551sec | 118 | Hyper-soft |
2 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1m37.768sec | 99 | Hyper-soft |
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1m38.066sec | 109 | Hyper-soft |
4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m38.490sec | 141 | Hyper-soft |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m38.551sec | 136 | Hyper-soft |
6 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1m38.818sec | 52 | Super-soft |
7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1m39.270sec | 72 | Super-soft |
8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1m39.270sec | 137 | Hyper-soft |
9 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1m39.444sec | 109 | Hyper-soft |
10 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1m39.485sec | Day 1: 100 / Day 2: 29 | Hyper-soft |
11 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1m39.580sec | 109 | Hyper-soft |
12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1m39.762sec | 115 | Hyper-soft |
13 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1m39.782sec | 105 | Hyper-soft |
14 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1m39.803sec | 85 | Hyper-soft |
15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1m39.810sec | 124 | Hyper-soft |
16 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1m39.947sec | 86 | Hyper-soft |
17 | Nikita Mazepin | Force India | 1m39.485sec | 90 | Soft |
18 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1m40.666sec | 149 | Hyper-soft |
19 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso | 1m41.428sec | 117 | Hyper-soft |
20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1m41.681sec | 97 | Hyper-soft |
21 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1m41.714sec | 118 | Hyper-soft |
22 | Oliver Turvey | McLaren | 1m41.914sec | 105 | Hyper-soft |
23 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1m43.345sec | 61 | Super-soft |
24 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1m44.827sec | 63 | Soft |
A wide variety of Lotus cars are often proffered as the ultimate F1 game-changer – but was the Lotus 76 an unusual candidate which trumps them all?
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