F1 testing: Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo top, McLaren loses time
Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest ever time around the Barcelona circuit on the second day of the final Formula 1 pre-season test, as McLaren missed most of the running


With the exception of the drivers who only appeared in the afternoon, most focused on performances run in the morning before switching to race simulations later in the day.
That meant Ricciardo's 1m18.047s, set just after 1pm, remained unbeaten as the rest of Wednesday was dominated by long runs.
Ricciardo's effort usurped Felipe Massa's time from 2008 as the fastest lap of this configuration of the Spanish Grand Prix circuit.
The Red Bull driver used the new hypersoft tyre for the first time to overhaul Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, which had topped most of the morning across medium, supersoft and ultrasoft tyre runs.
Hamilton ended up 0.353s adrift on a 1m18.400s on Pirelli's ultrasoft compound, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas taking over for the afternoon and lapping a further 0.160s slower on hypersofts.
Ferrari rejigged its plan and only ran Kimi Raikkonen in the afternoon because the Finn was unwell, so Sebastian Vettel had an unexpected extra morning in the SF71H.
He posted the fourth-best time, 1.494s off the pace on soft tyres, and concentrated mainly on long runs.
Raikkonen only made it as high up the leaderboard as eighth when he emerged, and added just 49 laps to Vettel's tally of 66 in the process.
Behind Vettel came Brendon Hartley, who improved late on a mixed day in which he had a spin and a stoppage at the pitlane exit but still completed 118 laps.
Toro Rosso driver Hartley posted a 1m19.823s on hypersofts to vault up the order in the closing stages, and give Honda another boost as its old partner McLaren suffered miserable day.

Fernando Alonso was quickest for part of the morning during a very productive opening two hours.
Alonso racked up 47 laps and set a 1m19.856s on hypersoft tyres, but then slowed to a halt on the run to Turn 7 after his Renault-powered MCL33 suffered an oil leak.
An engine change consigned Alonso to the garage for six hours and a half hours, though he emerged in the final 15 minutes to take his final tally to 57 laps.
Alonso ended up a couple of tenths quicker than the works Renault of Carlos Sainz Jr, who completed 88 laps over the first four hours before handing the RS18 to Nico Hulkenberg.
His team-mate was 0.8s slower as he focused on longer runs to rack up an even more impressive tally of 102 laps, making Renault the day's most productive team.
Those two were split by Romain Grosjean's Haas, Raikkonen and Lance Stroll, a trio covered by barely a tenth of a second.
Williams, Force India and Sauber did not make an impact on the leaderboard, although Sauber's Charles Leclerc did bring the meaningful running to an early end when beached his car into the gravel at Turn 12.
The test did resume briefly once it was cleared, but only to complete more FIA-mandated practice starts.
Wednesday test times
Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m18.047s | - | 165 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m18.400s | 0.353s | 90 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m18.560s | 0.513s | 85 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m19.541s | 1.494s | 66 |
5 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Honda | 1m19.823s | 1.776s | 119 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Renault | 1m19.856s | 1.809s | 57 |
7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 1m20.042s | 1.995s | 88 |
8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m20.237s | 2.190s | 78 |
9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m20.242s | 2.195s | 49 |
10 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1m20.349s | 2.302s | 63 |
11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1m20.758s | 2.711s | 102 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1m20.805s | 2.758s | 130 |
13 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m20.919s | 2.872s | 160 |
14 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams/Mercedes | 1m22.350s | 4.303s | 80 |

McLaren urges FIA to speed up talks over F1 2021 rules
Prince Harry launches new Silverstone Experience project

Latest news
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Why the new Williams boss shouldn’t avoid ‘Mercedes B-team’ comparisons
OPINION: Williams has moved to replace the departed Jost Capito by appointing former Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles as its new team principal. But while he has sought to play down the idea of moulding his new squad into a vision of his old one, some overlap is only to be expected and perhaps shouldn't be shied away from
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.