The first day of official training was favorable for Carlos Sainz, who completed 161 laps in Montmeló, a record only surpassed by Max Verstappen (Red Bull). "The sensations have been positive. I have felt comfortable from the first moment," said the McLaren leader, sixth in the time table (1: 17.842), nine tenths slower than Lewis Hamilton (1: 16.976).

The world hexacampeón rolled 1.2 seconds faster than Sebastian Vettel's best time on the first day of last preseason. However, its relay of only 15 laps with the C3 tire barely allowed conclusions to be drawn about the performance of the new Mercedes. Similarly, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Verstappen also hid their cards at the time of the race simulations.

The optimism in McLaren became palpable in the middle of the session, when Sainz led the classification with some C2 tires (1: 18.211). "It is still too early to squeeze the car to the fullest, we are still getting it ready. Anyway, it shows that it is a good step forward compared to last year. Not so much in a slow curve, but in a medium curve" , analyzed the Madrid.

Under ideal conditions, with a lot of adhesion and more than 20ºC of temperature on the asphalt, the Woking team was able to complete its entire program. In fact, they didn't roll anymore because they didn't have more tires. Also confirmed the improvement of the competition, the question among the expedition led by Andreas Seidl is very clear. Where is McLaren now?

Waiting to be able to provide a conclusive answer, Sainz is more than satisfied with having completed more turns than any day of the 2019 preseason. "Improving my sixth in the World Cup and the fourth in the Constructors' is difficult, almost impossible. But improve the performance of the car and be closer to large teams, but that is possible, "said the former Renault and Toro Rosso driver.

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  • Bull Rosso
  • Sebastian Vettel
  • Max Verstappen
  • Lewis Hamilton
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