F1 testing: Ricciardo outpaces Hamilton as McLaren stops again
Daniel Ricciardo set a new unofficial lap record of the Barcelona Formula 1 circuit as McLaren's interrupted Formula pre-season continued with another stoppage on Wednesday

Ricciardo's 1m18.047s, just after 1pm on day two of the second test, was almost three tenths faster than Felipe Massa's effort in 2008, which had previously stood as the fastest lap of this configuration of the Spanish Grand Prix circuit.
It came as Red Bull and Mercedes used Pirelli's new hypersoft tyre for the first time, but Wednesday's main story so far was offered by Fernando Alonso and McLaren when the Spaniard stopped on track after an oil leak.
That forced McLaren into an engine change, and abruptly ended a promising start to Alonso's day.
The Spaniard went quickest in the opening hour with a rapid 1m19.856s on the hypersoft tyres, displacing Hamilton's medium-shod Mercedes by more than a second.
Alonso then went on to rack up decent mileage across the first two hours of the morning, before grinding to a halt on an escape road on the outside of the entry to the Turn 7 left-hander.

He had already dropped down the leaderboard, though, with Hamilton and Force India's Esteban Ocon having spells at the top of the timing screen.
The shock improvement from Ocon was shortlived as his fastest final sector was at odds with an otherwise unremarkable lap, and his time was scotched a few minutes later for cutting the final chicane.
That left Hamilton - who also had a fastest lap removed for a track limits violation - untroubled for most of the morning, with various benchmarks set on medium, supersoft, and ultrasoft tyres.
His eventual best on the ultrasofts was 1m18.400s, but then Ricciardo had the hypersofts fitted to his RB14 and usurped him by a scant 0.043s.
Ricciardo then bolted on another set of the new-softest compound and increased the gap to 0.353s just after the usual start of the lunchbreak, which has been scrapped so testing can continue through to 6pm local time to help make up for the time lost because of last week's poor weather.
The leading two drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Sebastien Vettel's Ferrari best of the rest, 1.1s off the pace in third, having set his fastest time on the soft compound.
Kimi Raikkonen was due to carry out Ferrari Wednesday's running but was replaced by Vettel before the start of the day because he felt unwell.
Alonso was still fourth-fastest despite his stoppage, 1.809s off the pace.
The same gap from Ricciardo to Alonso covered the rest of the field, with Carlos Sainz Jr fifth for Renault ahead of Romain Grosjean, Lance Stroll, Ocon, Brendon Hartley and Charles Leclerc.

Previous article
Who's winning F1's crucial diffuser war?
Next article
F1 testing: McLaren insists unreliable new Formula 1 car not flawed

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Drivers | Lewis Hamilton , Daniel Ricciardo |
Teams | McLaren |
Author | Scott Mitchell |
F1 testing: Ricciardo outpaces Hamilton as McLaren stops again
Trending
Albert Park Circuit Modifications Project
Mercedes-AMG F1 Team: Bahrain GP Race Debrief
The 'new' F1 drivers who need to improve at Imola
After a pandemic-hit winter of seat-swapping, F1 kicked off its season with several new faces in town, other drivers adapting to new environments, and one making a much-anticipated comeback. BEN ANDERSON looks at who made the most of their opportunity and who needs to try harder…
The delay that quashed Aston Martin’s last F1 venture
Aston Martin’s only previous foray into Formula 1 in the late 1950s was a short-lived and unsuccessful affair. But it could have been so different, says NIGEL ROEBUCK
Verstappen exclusive: Why lack of car-racing titles won't hurt Red Bull's ace
Max Verstappen’s star quality in Formula 1 is clear. Now equipped with a Red Bull car that is, right now, the world title favourite and the experience to support his talent, could 2021 be the Dutchman’s year to topple the dominant force of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?
Are we at peak F1 right now?
For many, many years Formula 1 has strived to do and to be better on all fronts. With close competition, a growing fanbase, a stable political landscape and rules in place to encourage sustainability, 2021 is on course to provide an unexpected peak
How crucial marginal calls will decide the Red Bull vs Mercedes battle in F1 2021
The longer Red Bull can maintain a performance edge over Mercedes, the better the odds will be in the team’s favour against the defending world champions. But as the Bahrain Grand Prix showed, many more factors will be critical in the outcome of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship
How Williams’ new structure adheres to a growing F1 trend
Williams held out against the tide for many years but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, the age of the owner-manager is long gone
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle
The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.