Where the big three teams show their might at Barcelona

Another day of almost uninterrupted running provided ample opportunity to watch the 2020 Formula 1 machines from trackside at Barcelona.

After the morning's session had passed by with a mix of installation running, aerodynamic data gathering and rapid efforts, the field spent the afternoon pounding around the 2.89-mile track logging long runs - before Kimi Raikkonen twisted the plot with a late performance run to top the times in his Alfa Romeo.

As the sun poured consistent warmth onto the circuit, Autosport took a trip to some of the key corners on the track to assess how the 2020 challengers were shaping up to the naked eye. Starting at the left-hand Turn 10 hairpin, we ventured around some of the key technical corners in the second sector.

It was quickly apparent that the Ferrari SF1000, finally in Sebastian Vettel's hands after a day and half with Charles Leclerc at the wheel, allowed Vettel to be very direct with his steering inputs. While the four-time world champion wasn't totally immune from struggles (Vettel locked up on his second time past our vantage point), he looked nice and smooth on turn-in.

In fact, our arrival at Turn 10 seemed to coincide with several moments for different cars. Shortly after Vettel had produced a puff of smoke, Red Bull's Alex Albon did likewise, going deep into the corner and having to back off as a result. Several times during our mid-afternoon gaze, Albon arrived at the apex looking as if he was grappling with the car somewhat and not totally at ease.

But Haas driver Romain Grosjean made a consistent habit of locking up and not troubling the Turn 10 apex. The car did not appear to be the most stable creature under braking, with Grosjean not among the most confident on turn-in as a result. But it's worth noting that despite Grosjean's braking struggles, Autosport's technical expert Tim Wright timed his afternoon efforts in the final sector, and found that he looked competitive.

It was clear the Mercedes was running very close to the ground, with Bottas visibly kicking up dust as the car bottomed-out. But that didn't seem to bother the W11 in slightest

Looking further beyond Turn 10 and up the hill to the tricky, long right-hander of Turn 12, Esteban Ocon appeared to be struggling to find the apex of the corner consistently. But then he was early into his running in the Renault, which only completed 92 laps throughout the day after Daniel Ricciardo had logged 41 in the morning on his way to the day's third-fastest time.

Valtteri Bottas had the Mercedes stomping around for lap after lap as we watched on, and here a pattern of how early the drivers were able to get on the power emerged.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the cars of the top three teams - Bottas, Vettel and Albon, despite his apparent struggles - let their drivers step on the gas much earlier than the rest. Of the rest of the grid, long-time Thursday pacesetter Sergio Perez seemed to be in a class of his own on this front in the Racing Point, albeit just behind Bottas, Vettel and Albon, with the drivers from the rest of the pack slightly later again.

The advantage of the faster cars was the greater traction they were able to display - with their drivers pulling through the exit of the corner rather than waiting for the turn to open out before planting the throttle. The wonders of more downforce...

Raikkonen steamed past on the C3 rubber while most of his rivals had the harder compounds fitted to their machines. At one stage, the 2007 world champion appeared to be having a particularly wild time going through Turn 10, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to look up and see him stopped pointing the wrong way at Turn 14 (visible from our lookout post) later round the same lap - the result of clattering the inside kerb at Turn 13, where Max Verstappen went off twice on Wednesday, and spinning.

It was also apparent that the Alfa too lacked traction compared to the top teams, but that didn't seem to hinder Raikkonen later when he blitzed his way to the top of the times with just over 40 minutes of the day remaining while running the softest C5 tyres.

By moving around the track to Turn 9 - the fast Campsa right-hander - we were able to observe the cars at high-speed. Here, it was clear that the Mercedes was running very close to the ground, with Bottas visibly kicking up dust as the car bottomed-out. But that didn't seem to bother the W11 in slightest as it was glued to the road for lap after lap.

Perez's Racing Point also seemed consistently planted at high-speed, with the McLaren of Lando Norris likewise precise and steady on turn-in. Ocon, and Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri, looked that little bit slower, but only by a whisker.

We ended our perambulation with a visit to the car park overlooking the rapid-fire Turn 7/8 sequence, which is not quite a chicane. Here it was immediately clear that the Red Bull could glide nicely, with Albon able to guide it through with none of the hustling he had displayed further around the lap earlier in the afternoon.

Bottas, who was about to have his day ended 40 minutes early because of an electrical issue, again displayed healthy doses of early throttle application as he charged up the hill.

Vettel had spent some time in the garage during our wander from Turn 10 to Turns 7/8, but when he reappeared he was visibly attacking the sequence, running hard across the kerbs at Turn 8, while not unsettling the car all that much.

Vettel was able to be very direct with his steering through Turn 7, with the SF1000's front end looking planted through the left-hander

Like Raikkonen earlier, Vettel was using the grip from the softer C3 rubber and visibly pushing the car that little bit more as a result. Again, the Ferrari driver was able to be very direct with his steering through Turn 7, with the SF1000's front end looking planted through the left-hander before Vettel resumed his kerb-crunching into Turn 8.

Our final observation before heading back to the paddock was Grosjean's Haas, which was following Vettel for a lengthy period, appearing to roll through Turn 7/8 that bit more lazily compared to the Ferrari.

Not long after that, Grosjean couldn't stop the rear getting away from him at the long Turn 4 and he slapped the barriers backwards, losing the right-hand end fence in his impact with the barriers.

It was day over after that...