F1 Pre-Season Testing 2018: Times and Monday Analysis from Barcelona

Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap in his Red Bull on the first day of 2018 Formula One pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Rainy skies and low temperatures limited most teams to double-digit laps, and both Ferrari and Mercedes took few risks, dropping behind the pace of Red Bull on Monday. Ricciardo also led the way in total laps.

World champion Lewis Hamilton clocked just 25 laps in his Mercedes, and Fernando Alonso's McLaren lost a wheel during the morning session. Most of the action took place before lunch. 

Here's a look at Monday's timesheet:

Recap

Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso enjoyed a solid morning session, taking the top spot on the timesheet and leading the way in total laps as well.

Ricciardo's best lap was set on the medium compound and was significantly faster than the top time set on the first day of testing last year, per Sky Sports' Jonathan Green.

While Red Bull had the pace, Toro Rosso clocked a remarkable 72 laps, despite a scary moment on the kerbs:

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was four-tenths of a second slower than the Red Bull, despite posting his hot lap using the quicker soft compound. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas also couldn't keep up with Ricciardo, but the Silver Arrows didn't focus on pace during last year's testing, and the same could hold true for 2018.

The cloudy skies and weather forecast―a chance of rain―meant the focus of the first day of testing was on the first session, with fewer runs taking place in the afternoon.

Not all teams enjoyed productive mornings, however. In their first year after the disastrous spell with Honda as engine suppliers, McLaren faced some familiar struggles:

Alonso completed just 10 laps in the morning, with seven cars running quicker than his Renault-powered McLaren.

Sergey Sirotkin was the first man out for Williams in the afternoon, but with light rain starting to fall, most of the teams were limited in their runs. Alonso performed better than he did in the morning, and his time of 1 minute, 21.339 seconds, was faster than any the team set in all of testing last year, per Green.

Hamilton was off the pace with his first runs but didn't seem to push the car to the limit. Temperatures dropped quickly, which made it hard to bring the tyres up to the temperature required.

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Most of the cars returned to the pits early, with spots of rain on the track and the light fading fast. With more than half an hour left in the session, Haas called it a day:

The rain intensified in the final 30 minutes, and only one car crossed the 100-lap mark on the first day of testing: Ricciardo's.

According to Accuweather, the weather in Barcelona should not improve in the coming days, with more rain and low temperatures expected. Conditions for testing are far from ideal, but teams can't afford not to take advantage of their limited opportunities―there are just eight total days of testing allowed.