Like many, Pirelli admits to being surprised by the pace of the cars during pre-season testing.

The new aero regulations, not to mention the increased weight of the cars, had led to predictions of cars being around 1.5s off last year's pace.

However, from the outset it was clear that this was not the case, and by the end of testing Sebastian Vettel's best time was almost a second quicker than 2018.

"We've had eight productive days, with teams accumulating plenty of running in generally good conditions," said Pirelli's Mario Isola as he reflected on the test, "although - as expected at this time of year - without reaching the temperatures we anticipate during the season.

"Considering this, we are satisfied that all five compounds are performing as we planned, even though the softest compound is not really suited to Barcelona.

"As usual, during the second week of testing, teams were sampling a wider range of compounds and targeting performance and race procedures in preparation for Australia.

"What's perhaps more surprising is the pace of the cars at this point in the season," he admits, "not only are they going faster than last year's test, despite being 10 kilograms heavier.

"We experienced a bit of graining in cooler temperatures, which should disappear in warmer weather, and no blistering. It's hard to get a precise read on degradation in these conditions.

"At the moment we're seeing a gap of around 0.6 to 0.7 seconds between each of the compounds seen on track in Barcelona, which should translate to our target of about 0.9 seconds on a longer circuit in warmer weather."

Driver by Driver on Different Tyre Compounds

Driver	Team	Tyre	Time	Gap
Albon	Toro Rosso	C5	1:16.882	135.444 mph
Albon	Toro Rosso	C4	1:18.649	1.767
Bottas	Mercedes	C5	1:16.561	136.012 mph
Bottas	Mercedes	C3	1:18.862	2.301
Bottas	Mercedes	C2	1:20.127	3.566
Gasly	Red Bull	C5	1:17.091	135.077 mph
Gasly	Red Bull	C3	1:17.715	0.624
Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	C5	1:17.639	134.124 mph
Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	C3	1:18.511	0.872
Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	C4	1:18.589	0.950
Grosjean	Haas	C5	1:17.076	135.103 mph
Grosjean	Haas	C4	1:17.854	0.778
Grosjean	Haas	C3	1:18.563	1.487
Hamilton	Mercedes	C5	1:16.224	136.613 mph
Hamilton	Mercedes	C4	1:17.977	1.753
Hamilton	Mercedes	C2	1:18.097	1.873
Hamilton	Mercedes	C3	1:18.943	2.719
Hamilton	Mercedes	Proto	1:20.818	4.594
Hulkenberg	Renault	C5	1:16.843	135.513 mph
Hulkenberg	Renault	C4	1:18.800	1.957
Hulkenberg	Renault	C3	1:19.056	2.213
Hulkenberg	Renault	C2	1:20.980	4.137
Kubica	Williams	C5	1:18.993	131.825 mph
Kubica	Williams	C2	1:21.542	2.549
Kvyat	Toro Rosso	C5	1:16.898	135.416 mph
Kvyat	Toro Rosso	C4	1:18.682	1.784
Leclerc	Ferrari	C5	1:16.231	136.601 mph
Leclerc	Ferrari	C3	1:18.046	1.815
Magnussen	Haas	C5	1:17.565	134.251 mph
Magnussen	Haas	C3	1:18.199	0.634
Magnussen	Haas	C4	1:18.769	1.204
Norris	McLaren	C5	1:17.084	135.089 mph
Norris	McLaren	C4	1:17.709	0.625
Perez	Racing Point	C5	1:17.791	133.861 mph
Perez	Racing Point	C3	1:19.944	2.153
Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	C5	1:17.239	134.818 mph
Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	C4	1:18.209	0.970
Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	C3	1:19.462	2.223
Ricciardo	Renault	C5	1:17.114	135.037 mph
Ricciardo	Renault	C4	1:18.164	1.050
Ricciardo	Renault	C3	1:19.886	2.772
Ricciardo	Renault	C2	1:20.983	3.869
Ricciardo	Renault	C1	1:22.597	5.483
Russell	Williams	C5	1:18.130	133.281 mph
Russell	Williams	C3	1:20.997	2.867
Sainz	McLaren	C5	1:16.913	135.390 mph
Sainz	McLaren	C4	1:17.144	0.231
Sainz	McLaren	C3	1:19.354	2.441
Stroll	Racing Point	C5	1:17.556	134.267 mph
Stroll	Racing Point	C2	1:19.664	2.108
Stroll	Racing Point	C3	1:20.433	2.877
Verstappen	Red Bull	C3	1:17.709	134.003 mph
Vettel	Ferrari	C5	1:16.221	136.619 mph
Vettel	Ferrari	C3	1:17.925	1.704