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F1 Winter Testing 2018: Day 3 Report

Just 16 laps were run on the third day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Read all about it in Lights Out’s Day 3 Report!


The session was scheduled to start at 9am local time, but the conditions meant that the medical helicopter was unable to fly, so the start of the day’s action was delayed. Snow had fallen around the track, making for pretty, if not practical, images. Three hours later, the pit lane was finally opened, though it would be another hour until anyone ventured out on to the circuit. It was Fernando Alonso who broke the silence, taking a slow reconnaissance lap of the track on the full wet tyre before returning to his garage. The Spaniard seemed pleased with his performance.

Daniel Ricciardo soon followed suit, as did Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Ricciardo returned for a second lap, but took a trip through the gravel. Both Ferrari and Haas announced that they would not be running at all for the day, while Ricciardo left the circuit.

It would be another hour before the fourth driver braved the conditions. This time it was Robert Kubica, back in Williams’ FW41 for a second day, who was watched out of the garage by former Williams driver Valtteri Bottas. Brendon Hartley also followed the Polish driver out, though both returned after just a single lap. Over an hour later, the MCL33 was back in action, as Alonso completed a further two laps to put McLaren at the top in terms of mileage for the day – a rarity in recent seasons.  


McLAREN ‘FASTEST’

With half an hour remaining, both Alonso and Hartley returned to the track. Just ten minutes from the end of the session, Alonso finally set the first lap time of the day: a 2:21.268. Hartley’s Toro Rosso returned to the pits after one lap. As the chequered flag fell, Alonso came around to complete his tenth lap and improved to a 2:18.545. It’s the first time McLaren have been quickest in pre-season testing since the third day of the Jerez test ahead of the 2014 season. 


TOTAL LAPS IN TESTING SO FAR

While reigning champion Lewis Hamilton has only turned 25 laps so far in testing, Sergio Perez is yet to step into the new Force India car. He’ll get his first chance tomorrow, as he’ll be driving in place of the ill Nicholas Latifi. Valtteri Bottas leads the way with the most laps completed over the first three days:

  Driver Team Laps
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 152
2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 107
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 98
4 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 94
5 Carlos Sainz Renault 91
6 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 82
7 Charles Leclerc Sauber 81
8 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 80
9 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 80
10 Esteban Ocon Force India 79
11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 73
12 Max Verstappen Red Bull 67
13 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 64
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 56
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 55
16 Robert Kubica Williams 49
17 Lance Stroll Williams 46
18 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 37
19 Kevin Magnussen Haas 36
20 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 25
21 Nikita Mazepin Force India 22
22 Sergio Perez Force India 0

The limited running means Mercedes have done only a third of the laps that they had completed by this point in testing last year. With their ten laps from today, McLaren move ahead of Haas, with the American team now having completed the least laps so far:

  Team Laps
1 Ferrari 178
2 Mercedes 177
3 Toro Rosso 176
4 Williams 175
5 Red Bull 174
6 Renault 164
7 Sauber 145
8 Force India 101
9 McLaren 98
10 Haas 91
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