While McLaren managed just a handful of miles, Mercedes – the team Alonso had
been pining after last year – completed 157 laps, more than enough to drive
from Madrid to this tip of southern Spain.
Dennis had been expecting teething troubles – which paled in comparison to
some of the struggles seen here last year, when the 1.6-litre turbos were
brand new – as well as the many questions about whether he and Alonso could
get along (the pair spectacularly fell out over the ‘Spygate’ scandal back
in 2007). “I’m mellower now,” Dennis said, “and Fernando is more mature.”
He had not been anticipating the outrage of some fans at their decision not to
reintroduce the red and white of the 1980s. “You can’t just go with
Twitter,” Dennis said. Confusingly, however, he then said they may change it
mid-season from the current black, silver and red design.
One team who did turn up in new colours was Red Bull, opting for a zebra-like
camouflage livery. Unlike a year ago, they managed a decent number of laps,
but it was not enough to make their design guru optimistic.
“The car is a decent step forward, but it’ll be difficult to mount a serious
title challenge,” Adrian Newey said. Elsewhere, Ferrari new boy Sebastian
Vettel set the pace on day one; an utterly meaningless accolade.