Spanish Formula One fans flocked to the circuit at Jerez to see Fernando Alonso in action for McLaren on the first day of testing on Sunday.
But they had to wait two hours to see their hero and, when he did eventually emerge, he did a single installation lap to check the car’s systems before disappearing into the pits once more.
It was still the first time the Alonso-McLaren-Honda combo had been seen on track in public. Before going out Alonso said: “It will be a very emotional day. It is normal to have some stress before the first test. You are very curious to see how the car behaves and we know there are a lot of expectations.
“I am very honoured to be the first one to drive the McLaren-Honda. It will not be easy because we will discover many things in the car. We are in a learning process. I remember last year how many laps all the teams did. It was not many.” On Monday Jenson Button will have a go in the car but, with McLaren and Honda bedding in their renewed partnership, the team might struggle to match the laps put in by their rivals.
Alonso’s replacement at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel – looking very strange in his new red uniform – also had a first outing in his new car, the SF15-T. He was the first man out on this sunny but cold morning.
Ominously for everyone else, the fastest and best sounding car in the early stages of testing was the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg – the world champion Lewis Hamilton will have his first drive on Monday. After two hours of the session Rosberg had posted a time two seconds faster than Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.
Red Bull, along with Williams, are expected to push Mercedes hardest this season. But Red Bull appeared to be going to great lengths to keep their car under wraps once it had returned to the pits. At least Red Bull looked in better shape than at this time last year, when everything went wrong for them in testing
The test in Jerez will be followed by two more in Barcelona later in the month before the new season, which starts in Melbourne on 15 March.
