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Formula 1 Barcelona February Testing

F1 Barcelona pre-season test - Day 3

Minute by minute updates on the final day of the 2022 Barcelona F1 pre-season test

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

After a busy opening couple of days, all 10 teams complete the first test of the new era of F1 under the new technical regulations.

Track action gets underway at 8am GMT and finishes at 5pm GMT. The day will be split by a one-hour lunch break (12pm-1pm GMT) which can be reduced if requested due to lost track time from either red flags or poor weather conditions.

The final day will provide another good look at all of the 2022 F1 cars from every team, to see which teams have got it right and which have work to do. While never fully taken as the true pecking order, due to teams hiding outright performance levels by sandbagging their speeds, the tests still reveal an overview while giving teams which are struggling nowhere to hide.

The Barcelona shakedown test, conducted without live TV coverage or live timing, runs between 23-25 February. A second official test will follow in Bahrain on 10-12 March ahead of the 2022 F1 season opener at the same venue, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 18-20 March.

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Red Bull must have got that aero rake from the BBQ and Grill section at its local B&Q.

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear detail with sensor

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear detail with sensor

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

 
Mazepin, in the all-white Haas, is out on the track along with Norris and Albon (not Latifi is previously stated - sorry) so all 10 F1 cars have been out in the first 10 minutes.
An array of aero rakes are on show, with AlphaTauri leading the stakes with the biggest attachment. But it isn't size that counts, it is what you do with it.
Zhou, Gasly, Alonso and Leclerc the next to head out for their first laps of the day leaving just Mazepin, Norris and Latifi left to emerge.
Vettel and Russell join Verstappen on track for the early running. Quick reminder that we have four hours of running this morning before a one-hour lunch break, then another four hours until the finish and home time.
Green flag
But anyway, off we go and Verstappen heads out immediately for Red Bull.

What that basically means is conditions aren't terrible for track running but will be very unrepresentative compared to what the F1 teams will face during the season.

Sun
Weather update: It's cloudy and cold. The risk of rain is 20% and with the cloud cover it is a chilly 7.6oC with a track temperature barely into double figures.

The biggest news overnight came from Haas who dropped Uralkali Russian branding for final day of F1 testing amid Russian forces invading of Ukraine. Here's the latest: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/haas-to-drop-uralkali-branding-for-final-day-of-f1-testing/8466091/

Here’s the driver line-up for today:

Mercedes: Russell/Hamilton
Red Bull: Verstappen/Perez
Ferrari: Leclerc/Sainz
McLaren: Norris/Ricciardo
Alpine: Alonso/Ocon
AlphaTauri: Gasly/Tsunoda
Aston Martin: Vettel/Stroll
Williams: Latifi/Albon
Alfa Romeo: Zhou/Bottas
Haas: Mazepin/Schumacher

Lights green
Goooooood morning Barcelona! Who is ready for the last day of the F1 shakedown test? Action gets going in a little over 15 minutes.

By: Haydn Cobb

Published: