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Formula 1

Barcelona F1 test two day one

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In comes Vandoorne. Seven laps it is for McLaren. Ferrari and Mercedes? 86 apiece...
The right-hand side of the McLaren was adorned with flo-viz paint.
Correction - Vandoorne heads round again! McLaren desperate for every lap right now...
The Virtual Safety Car has also been deployed, the timing screens tell us. Vandoorne went around again, so he'll have completed six laps this morning.
Checkered flag
And there's the chequered flag.
One minute left and Vandoorne sneaks out of the pits for the first time since stopping on track.
Vettel and Bottas are now level on 82 laps, three behind Verstappen, who has now pitted the Red Bull.
Ericsson pits after that improvement. Two minutes left.
Ericsson improves to a 1m21.893s, which moves him clear of Perez by a scant 0.043s.
Five minutes left - Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Gasly, Sirotkin and Ericsson all on track right now.
Stuart Codling
Vettel's been remarkably consistent during this long run on mediums, staying in the 1m21s throughout, whereas Verstappen - who is running a reasonably comparable stint length on the same compound - has been much less metronomic: a 1m21 here, a 1m24 there, then a 1m23. Could be something, could be nothing.
Bottas is back out now with less than 10 minutes to before the lunch break.
Verstappen has overhauled Bottas now to become the morning's productive runner. He's just completed 80 laps.
Stuart Codling
Vettel goes out on mediums and does a 1m21.949s on his first flying lap, a 1m21.729s on his second, then a 1m21.249s on his third; though it's too early to draw firm conclusions about relative car or tyre performance, we can reasonably assume that the medium compound is a lot more useful than it was last season.
Ericsson also posts a new best time of 1m22.194s, but he remains ninth.
You could easily mistake the paddock for a GP weekend, until you realise how much smaller the hospitality units are.

You could easily mistake the paddock for a GP weekend, until you realise how much smaller the hospitality units are.

Perez improves to a 1m21.936s, staying eighth.
Verstappen however is poised to overhaul Bottas sooner than that. He's just finished his 75th lap.
Vettel is circulating on mediums, and with 70 laps done he's closing on Bottas' session-topping tally of 77.
Stuart Codling
Given that this part of the day is likely to be the warmest - and temperatures last week were so low, rendering a lot of the running less valuable - you'd really expect it to be busier out there right now.
Ericsson heads back out almost immediately, and now Vettel is joining him.
Ericsson brings the Sauber back into the pits.
Stuart Codling
The sight of Verstappen pounding around in the 1m21s on mediums, when he was lapping comfortably in that bracket during a mid-length run on ultrasofts earlier on, suggests there's more to the Red Bull than meets the eye (with the caveat that both track temperature and ambient have gone up, to 32.8C and 15.9C respectively).
Perez and Ericsson are on track. Haas, Williams, Force India and Sauber are the main teams (after McLaren of course) who are a little low on laps this morning.
Magnussen and Sirotkin hit the track. Both are in need of a bit more mileage before the break.
Verstappen cracking on with medium tyres, his last lap a 1m22.1s. Vettel pits again in the Ferrari and this time he'll stick around.
Autosport
Interesting admission from one of F1's chiefs about how 'noisy' things get when sensitive subjects are being discussed:

Liberty frustrated by 'noisy' Formula 1 future talks with teams

Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei has been surprised by the 'noise' surrounding negotiations with Formula 1 teams over the championship's future beyond 2020

Liberty frustrated by 'noisy' Formula 1 future talks with teams
Stuart Codling
Obviously blue smoke would be a little more concerning than white smoke, unless you're waiting for it to come out of the Vatican chimney, in which case white smoke is what you want.
Vettel in again after that roll through the pitlane. But he rolls straight out the other side.
Vettel pits, with a little bit of white smoke coming from the rear. Not sure if that's any cause for concern for Ferrari or something harmless they are in control of.
Edd Straw
McLaren's problem this morning is battery related. The team is still hoping to get out for a few laps before lunch.
Verstappen's headed out in the Red Bull.
Stopwatch
Vettel goes fastest! A 1m20.396s well into a long run on this set of mediums.
Hulkenberg pits, so all eyes on Vettel to see if he can keep it going. Personal best in sector two...
However, Vettel now goes fastest of anyone in the first sector.
Wow, Vettel threatens to go quickest well into this medium-tyre run with personal bests in the first and second sectors...but the lap falls away and he's a tenth slower.
Bottas pits, wheelspins through, and rejoins for lap 77. Hulkenberg pops in a personal best to improve to 1m21.738s.
Bottas in the high-1m23s now as Vettel pounds round still in the mid-1m21s.
Bottas moves onto lap 76 for Mercedes...

If you want to put this into perspective, the Finn's current tally is easily enough to drive from the Barcelona circuit to the airport and back four times, with mileage to spare.

McLaren wouldn't even get halfway there.

By: Geoff Creighton

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