Raikkonen happy with day of running, except for one issue...

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It's early days still, but Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was satisfied with his day of running on-board the Scuderia's new SF71H.

By the end of the day, the Finn had completed 80 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, posting a 1:20.506 which earned him the third fastest lap of the session.

Raikkonen's data acquiring programme went according to plan except for one detail.

"The real problem, the only one today, was the weather," said Raikkonen.

"My first impressions with the new car were OK, but it’s still too early to make any judgement, especially given today’s conditions.

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"These tyres aren’t designed to work at 8 degrees and it was difficult for everyone.

"As for the rest, our work had nothing to do with lap times and we just ran and changed a few things, trying to understand the car, which doesn’t seem to have any faults.

"Now we must try and do more kilometres."

Echoing the comments of a few of his rivals, Raikkonen gave the ubiquitous Halo the thumbs up over the course of a lengthy run.

"Compared to the tests we did in previous years, this time the Halo had been conceived as an integral part of the car design, which had not been possible before," he said.

"I didn’t notice anything different to driving the car without the protection."

Ferrari will resume testing tomorrow morning with Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.