Follow all four days of Test Two with Sky Sports F1; Second and final four-day Test at Barcelona starts on Tuesday.
Tuesday 7 March 2017 09:28, UK
After an intriguing first week in Barcelona, teams now just have four days left of testing before the 2017 championship officially begins. And it's fair to say some have more to work on than others.
World champions Mercedes seem to have once again embraced the technical changes, taking to Formula 1's 'rules refresh' seamlessly as they finished Test One with the fastest time and the most laps.
Still, perhaps Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas' lack of running on Day Four thanks to an electrical issue, along with the possible engine concerns back at base, will give challengers such as Ferrari some hope for Test Two and beyond.
If the Scuderia weren't the most impressive team last week they were certainly a close second. Indeed, the often hard to please Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both gave their SF70-H a cautious thumbs up. But Ferrari have often impressed in the winter before flattering to deceive once the season begins, and the upcoming four days could be a good indicator of how just good their work in Fiorano has been, with their rivals set to unleash their full potential.
Red Bull certainly fall under that bracket, having struggled for reliability and outright pace so far. The expectation is that Adrian Newey's RB13 will begin to look a lot different as Test Two develops. Drivers and management have conceded, however, that they may not be able to cut the power deficit to Mercedes until mid-season.
The same can be said about junior team and fellow Renault-powered outfit Toro Rosso, whose no-show on the timesheets on Day Four leaves them relying on a strong second week. They're currently bottom of the distance-covered leaderboard, just behind McLaren.
While talk of a divorce from engine-suppliers Honda has been laughed off by team boss Eric Boullier, the Woking team need a dramatic improvement from their new-for-Test Two power unit. The infrastructure, heritage and deep pockets of McLaren certainly point at success in 2017, but having also finished second-bottom in the timesheets for fastest laps, the team simply have to bounce back - not least to keep Fernando Alonso happy.
While not facing a pre-season crisis, Mercedes-powered challengers Force India and Williams may also feel they underachieved last week.
The latter, in particular, needs more running after Lance Stroll's two crashes. Felipe Massa opens the test for Williams, with Stroll back in the FW40 on Wednesday afternoon.
Renault, Sauber and Haas, meanwhile, will hope for more of the same. All three believe their new cars are giant steps forward, and perhaps rightly so with the Test One final standings placing them fourth, fifth and seventh respectively in the fastest laps from a team perspective.
It's all set up for another fascinating four days, all covered on Sky Sports.
DRIVER LINE-UPS
Tuesday 7th March
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (AM) and Valtteri Bottas (PM)
Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
Force India: Esteban Ocon
Williams: Felipe Massa
McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz
Haas: Kevin Magnussen
Renault: Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber: Pascal Wehrlein
Wednesday 8th March
Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas (AM) and Lewis Hamilton (PM)
Red Bull: Max Verstappen
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen
Force India: Sergio Perez
Williams: Felipe Massa (AM) and Lance Stroll (PM)
McLaren: Fernando Alonso
Toro Rosso: Daniil Kvyat
Haas: Romain Grosjean
Renault: Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer
Thursday 8th March
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (AM) and Valtteri Bottas (PM)
Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
Force India: Esteban Ocon
Williams: Lance Stroll (AM) and Felipe Massa (PM)
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz
McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne
Haas: Kevin Magnussen
Renault: Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg
Friday 9th March
Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas (AM) and Lewis Hamilton (PM)
Red Bull: Max Verstappen
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen
Force India: Sergio Perez
Williams: Lance Stroll
Toro Rosso: Daniil Kvyat
McLaren: Fernando Alonso
Haas: Romain Grosjean
Renault: Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer
The Sky Sports F1 Digital team will be providing live commentary from dawn until dusk for all days of winter testing while Sky Sports News HQ will also deliver live updates from trackside.
