Though it's been said many times before, the old adage about the fact that 'to finish first, first you have to finish' is totally true.

It's no use having the fastest car on the grid if it isn't going to make it to the finish line.

This year, as in 2017, Ferrari fills the top spots in terms of pace, though while Kimi Raikkonen was the pace-setter last year, this time around it's teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Third quickest is Fernando Alonso, but then again, when one comes to reliability McLaren is at the bottom of the pile. OK, it's nowhere as bad as last year but it's not the best way to inspire confidence.

Of course, this year we lost almost two days courtesy of the weather gods, yet even so Mercedes only completed 56 less laps than in 2017, while, admittedly, McLaren completed 174 more.

And then there's Honda, the Japanese manufacturer completing 425 laps last year when powering the Woking team, but a mighty 822 this time around in the Toro Rosso.

Despite looking poor on pace, Williams is looking good on reliability, while Renault has also taken a significant step forward. Indeed if we compare this year's pre-season test mileage to 2017, Toro Rosso McLaren and Renault see the biggest improvements, while Force India has taken a step back.

Though Haas has completed less miles this year than it did in 2017, the pace of the VF-18, especially considering it didn't resort to the hypersofts, indicates the American team could be a surprise force in the midfield.

As for engines, a direct comparison is made difficult by the fact that last year only two teams were running the current-spec Ferrari power unit, however, overall Renault has completed 16.7% more laps this year and Honda a mighty 93%.

If nothing else, it’s food for thought.

Engine Manufacturer Test Mileage

Engine Manufacturer	Laps	Miles	Kms
Mercedes	2570	7433.7	11963.1
Ferrari	2410	6970.9	11218.3
Renault	2177	6297.0	10133.7
Honda	822	2377.6	3826.3

Team Test Mileage

Team	Laps	Miles	Kms
Mercedes	1040	3008.2	4841.1
Ferrari	929	2687.1	4324.4
Toro Rosso	822	2377.6	3826.3
Williams	819	2369.0	3812.4
Renault	795	2299.5	3700.6
Sauber	786	2273.5	3658.8
Red Bull	783	2264.8	3644.8
Force India	711	2056.6	3309.6
Haas	695	2010.3	3235.2
McLaren	599	1732.6	2788.3

Driver Test Mileage

Driver	Team	Laps	Miles	Kms
Vettel	Ferrari	643	1859.9	2993.1
Bottas	Mercedes	584	1689.2	2718.5
Hamilton	Mercedes	456	1319.0	2122.6
Gasly	Toro Rosso	452	1307.4	2104.0
Sainz	Renault	444	1284.3	2066.8
Verstappen	Red Bull	419	1212.0	1950.4
Ericsson	Sauber	411	1188.8	1913.2
Magnussen	Haas	381	1102.0	1773.5
Leclerc	Sauber	375	1084.7	1745.6
Ocon	Force India	372	1076.0	1731.6
Hartley	Toro Rosso	370	1070.2	1722.3
Ricciardo	Red Bull	364	1052.9	1694.4
Sirotkin	Williams	354	1023.9	1647.8
Hulkenberg	Renault	351	1015.3	1633.9
Stroll	Williams	343	992.1	1596.6
Vandoorne	McLaren	336	971.9	1564.0
Perez	Force India	317	916.9	1475.6
Grosjean	Haas	314	908.2	1461.6
Raikkonen	Ferrari	286	827.3	1331.3
Alonso	McLaren	263	760.7	1224.2
Kubica	Renault	122	352.9	567.9
Mazepin	Force India	22	63.6	102.4

Best Times To Date

Date	Driver	Team	Tyres	Time	Gap
08-Mar	Vettel	Ferrari	HS	1:17.182	134.918 mph
09-Mar	Raikkonen	Ferrari	HS	1:17.221	0.039
09-Mar	Alonso	McLaren	HS	1:17.784	0.602
07-Mar	Ricciardo	Red Bull	HS	1:18.047	0.865
09-Mar	Sainz	Renault	HS	1:18.092	0.910
08-Mar	Magnussen	Haas	SS	1:18.360	1.178
08-Mar	Gasly	Toro Rosso	HS	1:18.363	1.181
07-Mar	Hamilton	Mercedes	US	1:18.400	1.218
09-Mar	Grosjean	Haas	US	1:18.412	1.230
07-Mar	Bottas	Mercedes	US	1:18.560	1.378
08-Mar	Hulkenberg	Renault	HS	1:18.675	1.493
01-Mar	Vandoorne	McLaren	HS	1:18.855	1.673
09-Mar	Hartley	Toro Rosso	HS	1:18.949	1.767
09-Mar	Ocon	Force India	HS	1:18.967	1.785
09-Mar	Leclerc	Sauber	HS	1:19.118	1.936
09-Mar	Sirotkin	Williams	S	1:19.189	2.007
08-Mar	Ericsson	Sauber	HS	1:19.244	2.062
08-Mar	Kubica	Williams	SS	1:19.629	2.447
08-Mar	Perez	Force India	HS	1:19.634	2.452
08-Jul	Verstappen	Red Bull	S	1:19.842	2.660
09-Mar	Stroll	Williams	S	1:19.954	2.772
26-Feb	Mazepin	Force India	M	1:25.628	8.446