Testing – Formula 1 2018 pre-season testing has begun. Stay with us for live updates throughout the second day.
17:30 – Just half an hour remaining, and it’s pretty quiet out there…probably due to the light snow fall!
Max comes back to the garage after a short run on inters. It has been snowing a bit… ❄️ #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/jXDtTJOITr
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenNL) February 27, 2018
17:00 – Vettel remains fastest, ahead of Bottas & Vandoorne. Kubica has racked up 32 laps on his return to F1 action so far…
Welcome back, Robert! 👋#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/mfApltNJN1
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 27, 2018
16:00 – Valtteri Bottas has joined Vettel in the 1:19s, setting a time on the Medium tyres, compared to the Ferrari’s Softs. Robert Kubica has worked his way up to P7, with a time in the mid 1:21s.
15:45 – Sebastian Vettel has just lit up the timing screens in his Ferrari. Using a fresh set of Soft tyres, he’s put in a 1:19.9 to be the first driver under the 1:20s. He backed off for a lap, then put in a lap a further 0.3 seconds faster. 1:19.6 sees him half a second clear now with two hours remaining in the day.
15:30 – Charles Leclerc is back out on track in the Sauber following his spin earlier. Vettel remains fastest, while Auto Motor und Sport are reporting that McLaren are having to carry out repairs on their car due to overheating damage from the exhaust.
.@PierreGASLY currently sits 5th on the timing sheets with a 1:21.318 and has 59 laps to his name 👊 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/iON4SPSogn
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 27, 2018
15:10 – Vettel is back out and gone quicker – a 1:20.1 on the Soft tyres. Robert Kubica has joined in the action now too, Williams have sent him out on the Soft tyres.
Robert Kubica ✅
Williams Mercedes FW41 ✅
Test Day 2 ✅
Install lap 🔜 #FW41 #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/dfx7SF6Fgp
— ROKiT WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 27, 2018
14:50 – Sebastian Vettel has gone fastest for Ferrari, with a 1:20.168. He’s almost immediately brought out the red flags though, spinning at Turn 2. He’ll be back out soon.
Robert Kubica is due out in the Williams soon, taking over from Sirotkin.
14:50 – Bahrain making a cheeky play on Twitter…
@F1 #F1Testing #2018F1Testing #Bahrain #BBCF1 #SkyF1 pic.twitter.com/U8rSH7aBk6
— Bahrain Int. Circuit (@BAH_Int_Circuit) February 27, 2018
13:50 – We have a semi-lunch break going on right now, thanks to the red flags being shown. This was to cover the retrieval of Charles Leclerc’s Sauber – he spun in the first sector and got beached in the gravel.
Mercedes have changed their run plan for the day too, Bottas will finish out the day, rather than Lewis Hamilton stepping in for the afternoon:
NEWS: @ValtteriBottas will continue to drive for the remainder of Day 2. This is to maximise our mileage after the poor track conditions limited running this morning. #DrivenByEachOther @F1 pic.twitter.com/Mj7Ed1H04O
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) February 27, 2018
13:30 – Confirmation from Red Bull that they’ve had an issue with the RB14 this morning, although Verstappen is now out on track.
Limited running for Max this morning due to a minor fuel leak. 🔧 The Team working to get the #RB14 back out there for this afternoon 👊 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/afSA39pSF1
— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 27, 2018
13:00 – It should be lunchtime now, but it isn’t! Onwards we go to make up for lost time this morning. Valtteri Bottas has just taken over at the top of the times by just 0.055 seconds over Stoffel Vandoorne; Bottas set his time on a set of Soft tyres.
Sebastian Vettel has just moved up to P3 in the Ferrari, setting a time in the low 1:21s. Carlos Sainz in P4 in the Renault now, he’s just moved into double digits laps having had a very quiet morning.
- Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:20.270 (Soft)
- Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:20.325 (Hyper Soft)
- Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:21.341 (Medium)
- Carlos Sainz Renault 1:22.599 (Soft)
- Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:22.844 (Soft)
- Esteban Ocon Force India 1:22.907 (Soft)
- Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:24.488 (Soft)
- Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:24.945 (Soft)
- Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:42.276 (Soft)
- Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing No time
- Lewis Hamilton Mercedes No time (PM session)
- Robert Kubica Williams No time (PM session)
- Nico Hulkenberg Renault No time (PM session)
12:30 – Just half an hour until the ‘half-time’ shout for the day, with the lunch hour called off, and we’re starting to see a little bit of life out there.
Vandoorne leads the way with a 1:20.325 on the HyperSoft Pirellis, and has completed 16 laps. Bottas is P2 for Mercedes, 0.3 down, using the Soft tyres. Carlos Sainz is P3, with just 8 laps completed and is 5 seconds off the front. With more drivers starting to head out now, we should see the leaderboard start to change.
12:15 – We actually have a small bit of action right now, Valtteri Bottas is on track in his Merc, as are Vandoorne in the McLaren and Gasly in the Toro Rosso.
We’ve seen Vandoorne head out on the HyperSoft tyre, he’s set a 1:20.325 and is now at the top of the times!
11:45 –
The morning's run programme continues as planned – lots of aero tests, lots of information gathered. Good work, Stoff. #BarcelonaTest pic.twitter.com/Qk0nN2yAeI
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 27, 2018
11:34 – Valtteri Bottas & Sergey Sirotkin are up to double digits in terms of laps completed now, with everyone else still on single digit installation lap running. Just two drivers have set laptimes – Carlos Sainz for Renault, and Bottas for Merc.
11:00 – Carlos Sainz does another timed lap! This one is in the 1:26s on Intermediates! There is absolutely nothing else happening right now…
10:40 – Due to the cold weather and lack of prime testing time, the Circuit de Catalunya have announced that there will be no lunch break today – this is to give the teams as much time as possible to run the cars. After all, after today ends, there is only six days of testing left before Australia…
🔥🔥 BREAKING! There will be no stop lunch today. Session will run from 9AM to 6PM. So, pitlane walkabout has been cancelled. #F1Testing
— Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (@Circuitcat_eng) February 27, 2018
10:25 – Lots of flow viz paint and aero devices being run this morning, as well as Intermediate tyres. It’s not actually damp or wet, it’s just that it’s too cold to go out on slicks.
10:20 – Here’s the line-up this morning:
- Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel
- Mercedes – Valtteri Bottas
- Renault – Carlos Sainz
- Williams – Sergey Sirotkin
- McLaren – Stoffel Vandoorne
- Toro Rosso – Pierre Gasly
- Sauber – Charles Leclerc
- Haas – Kevin Magnussen
- Red Bull Racing – Max Verstappen
- Force India – Esteban Ocon
10:00 – Good morning, and welcome to coverage of Day 2 of pre-season testing. It’s freezing at Circuit de Catalunya, almost literally – 0.6 degrees official air temperature according to the circuit!
We’ve had a few installation laps so far, and only one timed lap – that of Carlos Sainz in the Renault on Intermediate tyres.
First hour!! It's still cold outside (0.6C), but Sun starts shining and track temperature is increasing: 7,8ºC! #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/qxj2o2wzwe
— Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (@Circuitcat_eng) February 27, 2018
