Fernando Alonso set the pace in Valencia, at the opening day of the testing, driving the developed R28. The Spaniard managed to make the fastest lap after he completed 39 laps, with 1:13:027.

“When you have your first day with a new car, you always have to take your time to check that all the systems are functioning correctly, and that is what we did today. We were able to lengthen our runs little by little and ended the day with a 14-lap stint. Everything went well, but it is still too early to try and compare our performance with that of other teams, and that was not the objective today. The good news is that we encountered few problems, and we will be able to continue our work tomorrow,” Alonso said.

Alonso was 1,4 seconds faster than the Williams test driver Nico Hulkenberg, after the German completed 20 laps. The testing will go on for three more days in Valencia and seven more teams are going to test their new cars.