After the first day during which we had seen Mercedes at the top of the ranking at noon and in the evening, it was Sergio Pérez who took the reins of the ranking during the second morning of winter testing, with a time of 1’17 ” 347.
Amid controversy over the Racing Point RP20, which is a near-carbon copy of the Mercedes W10, the team is working to refine its car. He was ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who took almost 45 minutes to get out of the garage and was blocked at the pit due to a mechanical problem. The Australian is the least assiduous on the track this morning.
Alex Albon made his debut at the wheel of the Red Bull RB16 and placed in third provisional position, ahead of Pierre Gasly who discovered the AlphaTauri AT01 and spun early in the morning.
George Russell continues much more productive testing than last year and is fifth, ahead of Charles Leclerc, who will leave his wheel to Sebastian Vettel this afternoon.
Lewis Hamilton is seventh, but it is mainly a system used by Mercedes, which seems able to modify the width of the front axle and the angle of the wheels thanks to a push / pull system of the steering wheel, which hit the headlines during this morning (read our article here). The Briton was the most prolific in passing the 100 laps.
The last three in this ranking, which is however anecdotal, discovered their car this morning. They are Romain Grosjean, Kimi Räikkönen and Lando Norris, who officially launched their 2020 season.
In addition to Ricciardo, Pérez, Leclerc and Norris drove the least, finishing below the 50 laps covered during the morning.
At the resumption, at 2 p.m., we should find new drivers in their respective teams on the track: Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and especially Sebastian Vettel, who has not yet discovered the Ferrari SF1000. The tests end, as every day, at 6 p.m.
Find all the photos of the Barcelona test day by clicking here (gallery updated regularly).
The stopwatch times at 1 p.m .:
| Pos. | Pilot | Car | Time | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point Mercedes RP20 | 1: 17,347 | 48 |
| 02 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault RS20 | 1: 17,749 | 41 |
| 03 | Alex Albon | Red Bull Honda RB16 | 1: 18.155 | 49 |
| 04 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda AT01 | 1: 18,165 | 77 |
| 05 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes FW43 | 1: 18,266 | 71 |
| 06 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF1000 | 1: 18,335 | 49 |
| 07 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W11 | 1: 18,387 | 106 |
| 08 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari VF-20 | 1: 18,496 | 87 |
| 09 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C39 | 1: 18,508 | 65 |
| 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault MCL35 | 1: 18,537 | 48 |
| 11 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes W11 | -: -.— | 0 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Renault RS20 | -: -.— | 0 |
| 13 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari SF1000 | -: -.— | 0 |
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