Mugello, Day 1: Alonso remains quickest as heavy rain intervenes

After a wet start to the opening day of the Mugello test, further heavy rain brought to an end any planned dry running in the afternoon. As the lunch hour came to a close, the heavens opened resulting in another long wait for any track action.

Although the persistent inclement weather resulted in many drivers’ remaining in the dry and warm paddock, Gary Paffett took an adventurous outing in his McLaren. The British DTM star set his first timed lap of the day with a lowly 01:50.898, a time which left Paffett 12th and last after not partaking in the drier morning session.

With the rain showing no sign of stopping, Valtteri Bottas braved the elements and ventured out on track. The Finn completed several laps consistently in the 01:40s before the team called him back in to the pits, with thunder and lightning adding to the execrable weather at Mugello.

The heavy rain at Mugello most certainly isn’t a great advert for in-season testing, which makes its return today for the first time since 2008. With the rain relentlessly lashing down, coupled with thunder and lightning, the session was red flagged because the light was so poor that the emergency helicopter would be unable to take off if needed.

Due to the heavy rain, the order remains the same as the morning session, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fastest. This will likely be the only plus side for the loyal Tifosi fans, who have come to see their beloved scarlet Ferrari’s at this weeks test.

Tomorrow will see the session continue into hopefully much drier conditions, as the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Paul di Resta, Bruno Senna and Sebastian Vettel make their first track appearances of the week.

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