F1 2018: Daniel Ricciardo quickest on Day 1 of Barcelona testing

Australian Red Bull star Daniel Ricciardo was the quickest man on the opening day of pre-season Formula 1 testing, smashing reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton’s 2017 benchmark. Debuting the brand new RB14 car, Ricciardo dominated proceedings at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

It was a rather difficult day for most F1 teams as pre-season testing got underway on Monday (Tuesday AEDT). Ricciardo, the only driver to complete 100 laps, edged ahead of Mercedes F1's Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen with a fastest lap of 1:20.179. Ricciardo set the fastest pace just before the lunch break on Day 1 of F1's pre-season testing.

“It’s nice to see yourself at the top of the time sheets but in two-degree temperatures you really can’t learn anything. It was still a good day and we got over 100 laps done and, I think, one run of 35 laps. So reliability was solid and hats off to everyone for that," Ricciardo told the media after a taxing day.

F1 2018: Daniel Ricciardo sets the pace in Barcelona

According to reports, while Ricciardo and Bottas' fastest laps were set medium tyres, Raikkonen registered his best time on soft tyres. A year ago, Hamilton set the fastest lap on the first day of pre-season testing. Ricciardo’s quickest lap was nearly 1.6 seconds quicker than the Briton's lap in 2017.

Last week, a report emerged that Ricciardo crashed the new RB14 car during a closed practice session at a wet Silverstone circuit in London. However, Red Bull F1 were quick to shun the reports.

Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One champion, gave his vote of approval to Ferrari after debuting the SF-71H. “My first impressions with the new car were OK, but it’s still too early to make any judgment, especially given today’s conditions. These tyres aren’t designed to work at 8 degrees and it was difficult for everyone.”

The 2018 Formula One season will get underway on March 25 at Melbourne's Albert Park with the Australian Grand Prix. Though Formula One experts have pegged Mercedes F1 to repeat as champions, both Ferrari and Red Bull Racing could emerge as legitimate title contenders.