Some of the key headlines, soundbites, and must-watch video away from the timesheets at the Circuit de Catalunya…
Wednesday 19 February 2020 17:36, UK
Sebastian Vettel's appearance at the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday proved fleeting owing to the German feeling unwell.
Although the four-time champion did take his place on the grid for a novel - and clearly obligatory - pre-testing photocall with F1's class of 2020, flu-like symptoms meant he soon headed for the paddock gates and some needed rest and recuperation.
Charles Leclerc stood in for SF1000's full debut as a result
George Russell has admitted that last year's Williams car felt "scary to drive" in testing last year, as the Englishman reflected on a positive first outing in his new challenger.
"Overall it's been a very promising morning," said Russell, after hitting the lunch break in sixth - and with a time which was considerably quicker than his qualifying effort at last year's Spanish GP - before handing over to Nicholas Latifi.
"Definitely the general handling of the car is much better," he added. "From Lap One today I had confidence to push the car to the limit, whereas last year it wasn't a nice feeling in the early laps and it was quite scary to drive in the opening laps."
Meanwhile, Claire Williams admitted: "We wanted to make a real point after last year's dramas that we were here and ready to go. We just wanted to get today under our belt."
Williams missed the opening days of testing last year, and then finished bottom of the standings with one point.
"Everybody was a bit lost at this time last year," added Russell. "We're definitely excited for the new season. It was a character-building year last year, but I'm confident we can go racing this year and have a bit more fun."
Finding the limits of a new car is certainly a part-and-parcel element of testing, as aptly demonstrated by Max Verstappen at Barcelona's final chicane not once…
...but twice.
A big year for Renault started in slightly unfortunate circumstances with the focus given to the 'car-less' element of their Paris launch, but the team's insistence that their 2020 car build schedule was firmly on course has been vindicated since then.
After a Barcelona shakedown, the RS20 was officially revealed on Day One and immediately caught the eye - both in terms of its special testing livery and the significantly slimmed-down nose.
New signing Esteban Ocon was the first to drive it and told Sky Sports News: "The car is well born. At the moment it feels very decent, so it's a good start and a good solid baseline."
