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Barcelona F1 test day four

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Vandoorne sets a new fastest middle sector, but comes up a tenth short at the line, so it's a 1m19.9s this time.
Vandoorne backs off to a 1m27s - which seems to be roughly the cool-down ballpark most teams aim for when they are putting in a short performance run. Let's see if he's going for it again now.
Vandoorne puts those hypersofts to good use to go even faster - 1m19.854s.
Vandoorne is on track again, still sporting hypersofts, while Verstappen makes a small improvement on mediums.
Another improvement for Gasly in third - he's down to 1m22.134s now in the Toro Rosso.
Hamilton makes his first appearance of the day in the Mercedes.
Verstappen improves, but he's still sat near the bottom of the times in eighth.
Vettel joins Vandoorne in the 1m20s, still 0.7s down on the McLaren.
Vandoorne lowers his best to a 1m20.068s, still on the hypersofts.
Vettel improves again, bringing the gap to the McLaren down to 0.7s now.
Vettel moves up to second, 1.5s behind Vandoorne's time on hypersofts.
Four-second improvement for Vettel next time around, so maybe not that much fuel in it just yet.
Vettel starts this run with a 1m28.577s, so he's either building up slowly or Ferrari have chucked a load of fuel in now we have consistent conditions.
Vettel returns to the track as the sun continues to beat down on this new track surface. There's still talk of rain for later on, so this might be the golden period to get some running in (for those not eating lunch at the moment).
Another couple of places climbed for Magnussen with a 1m27.050s.
Vandoorne stays out to lower the day's benchmark to 1m20.513s, while Verstappen returns to the pits after a quick aero test.
Some reading for this very brief lunchbreak - from our sister site AutoClassics, F1 design legend John Barnard relives what might have been Ferrari's most important victory

www.autoclassics.com
Lap count:

Vandoorne 92
Ericsson 79
Gasly 62
Bottas 60
Vettel 56
Hulkenberg 49
Sirotkin 47
Magnussen 31
Verstappen 26
Perez 19
Hamilton 2
And now every car is in the pits. Perhaps 13.30 is the unofficial lunchbreak today.
It's all gone a bit quiet now - Ericsson continues by on super-softs, while Magnussen returns from an out lap on softs with signs of a trip through the gravel.
Here's a summary of the morning action, though our 1.15pm pacesetter Hulkenberg has already been deposed:
F1 testing: Renault's Nico Hulkenberg leads drying Thursday session
Next time around Vandoorne puts McLaren on top with a 1m20.8s.
Perez's first attempt puts him seventh. Vettel and Ericsson continue to improve.
Hypersofts for Vandoorne. McLaren has used that tyre more than anyone when the chance has arisen this week.
Perez appears on the ultra-softs, so he's surely about to move off the bottom of the times. Vettel moves up to third.
Vettel continues to climb, moving up to fourth with a 1m25.4s.

By: Geoff Creighton

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