Barcelona F1 test day one
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We're approaching the final 15 minutes of the first morning - but no signs of any improvements right now.
Williams has added some rather unsightly flow-viz paint to the underside of Russell's car - just behind the front wing to the bargeboards.
Bottas takes a trip down the pitlane in his Mercedes.
Verstappen is currently lapping on the C1 tyres - the hardest in Pirelli's range for testing.
Those two improvements were a veritable flurry.
Russell pops his Williams into sixth on the 1m18.168s on the C3s.
And Kubica puts Alfa into seventh on a 1m18.386s on the C3s.
Kubica sets two personal bests in the opening segments - this could be the first improvement in a while.
Bottas dips over the 1m19s mark as his long run on the C3s continues.
Replays show Bottas sliding wide as he exits the penultimate corner, which has happened a fair few times so far today.
Bottas completes a lap that's 1.6s off his benchmark best.
A blur of Bottas
Leclerc and Sainz have been swapping track position in the first sector - they're three months early for the race here at Barcelona.
Kvyat is returning to the track for AlphaTauri - he's currently propping up the times and the lap count, after completing 42 tours.
The Aston Martin logo on the back of Verstappen's rear wing appears to be wobbling somewhat as he races down the main straight.
Replays show Verstappen taking to the runoff at the Tun 10 hairpin - just a brief excursion, though.
Leclerc is pounding around on the C3s in his Ferrari.
Bottas and Perez - at the head of the times so far - have just headed out again.
Verstappen leaves the Red Bull pit - he's done the most laps so far on 70.
Autosport
Our technical whizz Jake Boxall-Legge has taken a close look at the new Racing Point RP20's close - some might say clone-like - similarities with last year's Mercedes W10. It's a gamble that has its risks, but in the last year of the current rules cycle, could also have huge benefits. 
Kubica has improved to a 1m18.873s in the Alfa Romeo on C2s.
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Your lap counts are:
Verstappen 70
Russell 60
Bottas 59
Sainz 54
Leclerc 45
Ocon 44
Perez 43
Magnussen 41
Kvyat 38
Kubica 37
Verstappen 70
Russell 60
Bottas 59
Sainz 54
Leclerc 45
Ocon 44
Perez 43
Magnussen 41
Kvyat 38
Kubica 37
A 1m19.2s, 1m19.4s, 1m19.4s run from Ocon here on С3 concludes with the Frenchman returning to the pits. Russell is all alone on track at the moment.
Another small improvement from Ocon, a 1m18.004s on C3s. He stays fifth. There's just under an hour left in the morning session.
Here's the man who is currently on top of the pile. Bottas has so far completed 59 laps in the new Mercedes W11, second only to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the total accumulated thus far.
The beep did stop, by the way, and everyone looks to have just about recovered. No obvious explanation what it was just yet, but we'll keep you posted if some beep-related news emerge.
Russell takes seventh place back from Magnussen, courtesy of a 1m18.460s on C4s.
The media centre is currently in collective agony because a horrifying continuous beep is being played over the loudspeaker. It keeps modulating... but it never stops. I am typing this through tears.
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Kubica's improved to a 1m19.833s on what we very cautiously believe may have been C1s. It's really quite hard to tell in motion.
Leclerc's run after his new personal best of 1m18.308s was as follows: 19.176, 19.499, 19.817, 20.047. Verstappen, meanwhile, is being extremely consistent again in the 1m19.1-19.5s range.
Magnussen posts a 1m18.466s to overtake Russell for seventh place.
Autosport
Kvyat is back out on track after a brief stutter in the pitlane, which prompted the AlphaTauri mechanics to wheel his car back to the garage temporarily.
He and team-mate Pierre Gasly will be hoping there's no further stuttering in their careers this year but, even so, they remain in a limbo of sorts for the time being.
He and team-mate Pierre Gasly will be hoping there's no further stuttering in their careers this year but, even so, they remain in a limbo of sorts for the time being.
Stopwatch
Fastest second and third sectors of the session for Bottas, and the Finn duly takes over out front with a 1m17.317s, on C3s.
Leclerc improves to a 1m18.308s with the first flying lap of his current run, but it's not enough to move him up in the classification.
Kvyat does a practice start in the AlphaTauri on pitlane exit - it looked alright - and now slots in behind Verstappen on track.
First observations from our technical expert TIM WRIGHT, who has been watching the opening couple of hours with keen intent. Having been keeping a watchful eye on Renault down the straight, he reports that it's sparking a lot more than the rest, perhaps running less clearance than some of the other cars.
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Improvements have been few and far between since the last leaderboard update:
1 Perez 1m17.375s
2 Bottas +0.160s
3 Verstappen +0.412s
4 Sainz +0.626s
5 Ocon +0.651s
6 Leclerc +1.019s
7 Russell +1.159s
8 Magnussen +1.183s
9 Kubica +2.541s
10 Kvyat +2.759s
1 Perez 1m17.375s
2 Bottas +0.160s
3 Verstappen +0.412s
4 Sainz +0.626s
5 Ocon +0.651s
6 Leclerc +1.019s
7 Russell +1.159s
8 Magnussen +1.183s
9 Kubica +2.541s
10 Kvyat +2.759s
A very minor improvement from Ocon takes him to a 1m18.026s on C3s, as he stays fifth. Besides Williams, Renault and Racing Point are the two other teams to have already surpassed their best qualifying efforts from 2019.
By: Geoff Creighton
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