Formula 1 2017: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull top F1 pre-season part one test in Barcelona [PHOTOS]

Formula 1 March 3, 2017 — Mercedes' Valterri Bottas is followed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in Barcelona-Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, Spain, March 3, 2017. Reuters/Albert Gea

Formula 1 2017's first part of pre-season test ended on March 2 in Barcelona, Spain. Topping the race test were the three-time Formula 1 World Constructors' Champion Mercedes, 16-time Constructors' Champion Ferrari and four-time Constructors' Champion Red Bull.

The four-day winter test gave a preview of the strength and power of the Formula 1 2017 teams. Mercedes' race driver Valtteri Bottas emerged as the quickest driver among the teams with his 1:19.705-minute finish. Bottas was the new teammate of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

Meanwhile, German racing driver and four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari placed second with 1:19.952-minute time. Australian racing driver Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull landed in third place with 1:21.153- minute finish. The fourth spot was grabbed by Renault's British racing driver Jolyon Palmer with 1:21.396-minute time.

Sauber's Swedish race car driver Marcus Ericsson with 1:21.824-minute finish placed fifth in the test. Williams' Brazillian race car driver Felipe Massa with his 1:22.076-minute drive ranked him in sixth place. Haas' Franco-Swiss race driver Romain Grosjean was in seventh place with his 1:22.118-minute finish.

Force India's 20-year-old French race car driver Esteban Ocon was in eighth place with 1:22.509-minute finish. McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne from Belgium ended in ninth place with 1:22.576-minute finish. Finally, Toro Rosso's Russian race car driver Daniil Kvyat was in 10th place with 1:22.956-minute drive.

During the first part of the pre-season, Williams team wrapped up early on the second day, Feb. 28. This happened when the Canadian rookie Lance Stroll spun off, which damaged the FW40 car. "I went through the gravel with a little spin and drove back to the garage and apparently we broke a little winglet on the front wing and we only have one. So that's a bit unfortunate and it ended our day," Reuters Canada reported Stroll as saying.

Meanwhile, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was not able to drive on the final morning of the four-day test. SkySports reported that it was not known if Mercedes suffered engine component failures on their factory-based test dynos. But a Mercedes source said that the failures were a desirable occurrence so that quick and accessible fixes could be applied. Furthermore, Mercedes will introduce an upgraded engine for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 26.

Formula 1 2017 second pre-season test starts on March 7 and ends on March 10. Formula 1 2017 Australian Grand Prix will kick off on March 26. The Chinese Grand Prix will follow on April 9, Bahrain Grand Prix on April 16, and Russian Grand Prix on April 30. The Formula 1 2017 teams will return to Spanish Grand Prix on May 14.

The other 15 Grands Prix include Monaco Grand Prix (May 28), Canadian Grand Prix (June 12), Azerbaijan Grand Prix (June 25), Austrian Grand Prix (July 9), British Grand Prix (July 16), Hungarian Grand Prix (July 30), Belgian Grand Prix (Aug. 27), Italian Grand Prix (Sep. 3), Singapore Grand Prix (Sep. 17), Malaysia Grand Prix (Oct. 1), Japanese Grand Prix (Oct. 8), United States Grand Prix (Oct. 23), Mexican Grand Prix (Oct. 30), Brazilian Grand Prix (Nov. 13), and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Nov. 26).

Pre-season test one's first place, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas