Ricciardo Says McLaren Executed A 'Pretty Flawless' Pre-Season Programme In Spain

There were no complaints from Daniel Ricciardo after McLaren’s start to pre-season running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week, the Australian reckoning the team’s programme had kicked off without a hitch last week.

The Woking team set a solid 365 laps over the three days, putting them third in the mileage charts, Lando Norris having set the benchmark on Day 1 before Ferrari and Mercedes topped the next two days.

Ricciardo was also in on the action, going fastest on the morning of Day 2.

“I think we’re in a good spot, but there’s always something to work on and improve. So, we’ll give the team some data to work with and some areas of work to do [and] I'll focus on what I can keep doing better,” said Ricciardo.

“Overall, a pretty flawless three days for the team, a really awesome start to the season. Thanks to everyone back at [the factory] for putting the hard work in over the winter to put us in this position.”

The Australian was one of two drivers to try out the new 18-inch wet tyres on Friday afternoon, which he said had given him and the team some valuable information.

“It was good to get a little bit of wet running, there was quite a lot to learn from that,” he said. “We then got into a different programme [to Thursday] where we racked up plenty of laps, which was really productive.

“Now it’s about giving that information back to the team and trying to build on this positive start.”

McLaren caught the eye of Mercedes’ new recruit George Russell during the session as well, but Ricciardo – much like team mate Norris did on Wednesday – played down the team’s pace and said there’s more to come from the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes.

“In any case, still your Red Bulls, your Mercs, they haven’t showed really anything yet. So we’ll see what happens when that kind of opens up a little more. But for now, focusing on ourselves… just trying to figure out still where we’re [weak].

“I think I know our strengths already, so just trying to know work on the weaknesses from a driving and a set-up point of view.”

Bahrain is the next destination, for the Official Pre-Season Test that begins on March 10 – before the lights go out for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.

Gasly Says AlphaTauri AT03 Felt 'Positive Straight Out of the Box' in Barcelona

Pierre Gasly was buoyed by his AlphaTauri AT03’s performance straight out of the Barcelona pit lane, and despite a small crash on the final day he left Spain buzzing for the Bahrain Official Pre-Season Test.

The Frenchman completed 187 laps over the three-day programme – more than Day 3 leader Lewis Hamilton – while AlphaTauri managed 308 tours of Barcelona in total. Gasly said he'd been “super excited” to try the new breed of F1 car, and it seemed AlphaTauri’s AT03 did not disappoint.

“I must say I was super excited, especially with this new car, just to understand a bit more how it works and have a sort of idea how my feelings will be inside this new car.

“And it’s been really good, it’s been really positive straight out of the box; I felt quite confident inside the car and it kind of responded the way I wanted. Obviously there’s still a lot of things to work on, but it was a pleasing start.”

However, his final day was curtailed to just 40 laps thanks to a crash in the morning.

“Unfortunately, I locked up my tyres during the morning running and damaged the car, but testing is about finding the limits and we’ve still been able to gather a lot of valuable data over the three days,” he explained.

“This is of course only the first test, and we have a lot to analyse before the three more days of testing in Bahrain.”

Gasly's team mate Yuki Tsunoda, now beginning his second season of Formula 1, was equally enthused by his first introduction to the AT03 – but admitted there were some changes needing made to his driving style in order to suit the ground effect package of the 2022 cars.

“It’s been a good three days of testing here in Barcelona, it’s been really productive, and we’ve learnt a lot about the new car. I’ve been really excited to get back driving since Abu Dhabi, especially knowing that it’s a whole new car, and I’ve really enjoyed my time getting to know the AT03,” said Tsunoda.

“There’s still a lot to do ahead of the next test in Bahrain. From my side, I need to make some more adaptions to my driving style to suit this new car, but overall, it’s been a really positive test.

“We’ve still got three days in Bahrain before the first race, so we need to prepare as much as possible ahead of this so that we can start the season off well.”

Bahrain’s Official Pre-Season Test is up next on March 10-12 and indeed, as Tsunoda says, it is the teams' final chance to get to grips with the 2022 cars before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.

Alonso Believes Alpine Have Made A 'Step Forward' With New PU After Barcelona Running

Smoke signalled the early end of Alpine's running in Barcelona, when Fernando Alonso's A522 stopped on track on the final morning – yet the two-time champion was mostly unfazed by their troubles.

Alpine set 264 laps over the three days in Barcelona – putting them eighth in the mileage stakes, with only Alfa Romeo and Haas behind – adding just 12 on the final day of running as Alonso ground to a halt.

The team later said a "minor sealing issue" in the hydraulics had caused the fire that halted their running on the final day. Yet Alonso was complimentary about what he'd experienced from the team’s all-new Renault power unit for 2022.

"Well, obviously, we believe that we have a step forward on the engine, on power, but also on everything, you know?" he said. "I think the engine has been updated in many different areas, so, let’s see if we can be a little bit competitive on that side.

"And [we must] keep… the reliability that we had last year; it was one of the strongest points of the car, finishing all the races and having no issues at all. So yes, you need to combine those two things: the performance and finishing the races."

The Spaniard also stressed that he was looking forward to the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain on March 10-12, in order to see whether Alpine have the grunt to keep up with the frontrunners.

"Until we go to Bahrain, we don’t know even what the others did as well on the engine side and how much progress everyone did this winter," he warned.

"There is new fuel, so we all lost performance with the new fuel, and we all try to recover that. So, let’s see in Bahrain."

Team mate Esteban Ocon missed out on Friday afternoon running thanks to that stoppage, and only had Thursday in the car – completing a very productive 125 laps over the day. He was left feeling encouraged by the A522's potential.

"[Thursday] was my first proper day in the A522 and it’s certainly a great feeling to be back in a Formula 1 car and doing lots of laps," said the Frenchman after running on Day 2.

"It was good to start to get a feeling for the car on proper tyres in accurate testing conditions. The most important target for us today, like [Wednesday] too, was to do lots of running, so to do over 100 laps is encouraging.

"We tested a lot of different things and we’ve given ourselves a couple of ideas to work on. We definitely have a direction on the particular areas to improve, which is the main objective at pre-season testing. It’s a positive start and I’m looking forward to discovering more," he concluded.

Verstappen Says Red Bull RB18 Will Be 'Completely Different' For Bahrain's Official Pre-Season Test

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has asserted that his Red Bull RB18 will take on a new form in Bahrain, after three days of running and 206 laps in Barcelona.

Red Bull enjoyed a solid start to their pre-season programme, the RB18 making its proper debut on track at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week. Verstappen was fifth overall in the mileage stakes and Red Bull were fourth overall – setting 34 less laps than Mercedes over the three days – despite a final day that saw numerous red flags fly.

Asked to assess the session, Verstappen said: “It’s difficult to rate. What was positive is the car was running smooth, I was happy with the balance – but Bahrain is going to be completely different, so heading into race one, the car will be completely different as well.

“So for me, I just focussed on doing a lot of laps and try to really nail down every single aspect of the car.”

As for the stop-start Friday that began with a stoppage for Fernando Alonso and saw Alpine, Alfa Romeo, Haas, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin end their running early, Verstappen said his squad gained the most they could from the final day.

“Yes, it was alright,” he continued. “Of course, quite a few red flags so... we could not complete our whole programme. But everything was working well, the car felt good, it just continued from what I did on Day 1, [which was] the most important objective here for us.

“The car runs really well. In general, the weight is a bit up, but I really enjoy driving the car, it has a nice stable balance and I think they look cool as well – that’s always nice to jump into.”

The Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain – on March 10-12 – is up next, followed by the season-opening Grand Prix at the same venue on March 20. And Verstappen warned that he’s not going to read into the lap times until qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix begins...

“I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention to the lap times yet; we will look into that in Q3 in Bahrain.”

Why Alfa Romeo Have Gone Bold With Innovative C42 Design

Although Alfa Romeo’s C42 already completed F1 pre-season running over three days at Barcelona last week, it did so in camouflage livery which at its official launch today was replaced by an updated variation on Alfa’s traditional red and white colours.

They give a clearer impression of the car’s elegant lines and its relatively short wheelbase, within which notable design features include:

• A quite sophisticated front wing

• A push-rod rear suspension (like Red Bull, AlphaTauri and McLaren) and an unusual geometry of its front push-rod layout

• Similar packaging of the Ferrari cooling system, as seen on the Ferrari itself (and the Haas), giving sidepods which are fat but heavily undercut at the front, with heavily louvred sidepod tops

Short wheelbase

The 2022 regulations stipulate a wheelbase length of between 3460-3600mm. Everyone but Alfa is towards or at the upper end of this, as packaging of the power unit and their cooling systems is very demanding. But Alfa has managed to package everything into a wheelbase of just over 3500mm, making it easier to bring the car down to the regulation minimum weight.

Unusual front wing

The front wing continues the team’s tradition of the elements falling away heavily at the outboard ends to encourage outwash around the tyre. It is unusual in how heavily the lower edge of the wing is contoured, making for quite a wavy line with the ground.

These curves reflect how the wing elements across the span of the wing are separated into three quite distinct sections:

1. Around the nose, where the elements are quite full and heavily cambered up to the flap adjusters. The nose and central section of the wing are positioned quite high – not as extreme as on the Aston Martin but higher than most. This is prioritising airflow to the underfloor. The nose tip sits within a small drop-down extension of the lowest of the four elements, creating a slot there which will condition the airflow to the shaped underside of the nose, accelerating it towards the venturi tunnel inlets. There is a complex contouring of the four elements relative to each other in this inboard section as they manipulate the airflow between them, despite regulations which limit the overlap allowed between each element, and therefore their effectiveness.

2. The central section of the elements, from the flap adjusters to around level with the tyre’s inner face, are medium-cambered.

3. The outboard flaps which reduce dramatically in profile and are ramped steeply down, carrying very little camber.

A wing creates downforce by the pressure difference induced over its upper and lower surfaces. The aerofoil shape creates a low pressure beneath, which the air rushes to fill, and a high pressure on top. This pressure difference creates the downward force.

As the elements on the Alfa’s wing become less aggressively shaped from inboard to outboard, so the downforce they create can be tuned with the shape of the lower edge relative to the ground.

The closer to the ground, the lower the air pressure on the wing’s underside will be and the harder the elements will work. As the elements are reducing in how aggressive their upper contours are, so the bottom edge of the wing is closer to the ground, giving a compensating effect.

Extreme anti-dive suspension

Although the C42’s front suspension retains a conventional push-rod operation of the inboard rockers, the geometry is quite extreme. The top wishbone’s front leg is mounted high, the rear leg much lower.

This will give a big resistance to dive when the car brakes, thereby keeping the aerodynamic platform of the car more stable. The venturi channels below the 2022 generation of cars dominate almost every aspect of car design, and keeping them fed with air throughout all the different states the car will see in roll, pitch and dive is crucial.

Alfa’s Jan Moncheaux-led technical team has opted to prioritise keeping the car as level as possible under braking to retain as much of the ground effect induced by the tunnels as possible.

Sidepod

The radiator arrangement for water, oil and intercooler on the new Ferrari power unit looks much the same as on the Ferrari and Haas, with a relatively small airbox inlet, a concentration of area into the front of the sidepod, giving a wide front but a teardrop shape in plan-view. Because of the shorter wheelbase, that teardrop stays fat at the front for longer.

While the teardrop shape helps accelerate the overbody airflow as it travels to the back of the car, it reduces the space available for cooling exits. Hence the facility for a lot of louvred cooling on the upper face of the sidepods – and hence also the big radiator inlets at the front of the pods.

At Barcelona, the car suffered more than most with the porpoising problems encountered up and down the field, and this had run-on implications for its reliability. So as yet, we haven’t seen what the C42’s real potential might be. But it certainly shows the technical team there has not been afraid to innovate.

Can Bottas Lead Alfa Romeo Back To The Midfield?

Valtteri Bottas’s first pre-season session with his new team Alfa Romeo was a nightmare. The former Williams and Mercedes racer managed just 54 laps – the fewest of any race driver – in Barcelona. Some clocked that tally in just a couple of hours – but Bottas remains optimistic.

That’s because it’s early days not just for him and the Swiss team, who officially launched their season on Sunday with the unveiling of their 2022 livery, but for everyone on the grid because of the sweeping new rules.

Alfa Romeo must do better this year, having scored points just six times in 2021 on their way to ninth in the constructors’ standings. Part of that was down to the fact they turned their attention to 2022 very early, diverting resources ordinarily pencilled for last season to the brand-new cars in a bid to make a big jump up the pecking order.

But they also didn’t deliver a car that was good enough. Positively, their lack of performance in the last two years meant they had one of the highest allocations of wind tunnel and CFD (or computational fluid dynamics) time for the 2022 car, a potentially significant advantage given the premium the new rules put on development time because of the new formula.

It's why Team Principal Fred Vasseur has set a target of jumping at least two places in the constructors’ championship to P7. “The most important thing is to improve, always improve and close the gap with the best one on the grid,” he said when speaking in Barcelona on Sunday morning ahead of the team’s filming day, where the car will run for 100km on demonstration tyres.

“We are fighting for the championship, but at the end of the day, the final target is to improve. We had a poor season with P9 last year and we want to do much better this season, but I also want to close gap in terms of pure performance. This is my personal target. At the end of the day, we have to improve the classification in the championship and I would say P7 is a decent target.”

To achieve that goal, they will be relying on one of their new recruits – Bottas. The Finn’s experience working with the dominant team of the last decade, Mercedes, will be invaluable. Some were surprised he decided to join Alfa Romeo, having spent the last five years in a car that could win the championship – but leaving F1 just yet was never an option for Bottas. He still has the hunger and fire to deliver.

He believes his best is yet to come and he saw the Alfa Romeo project, led by his good friend Vasseur, as one in which he can help deliver and make it a success. Alfa Romeo need that experience and that drive, as not only will it deliver performance on track but also boost spirits off it. And Vasseur knows the Finn won’t be afraid to say what he really thinks.

“Valtteri spent the last five years with Mercedes,” said Vasseur. “They won together five championships in a row. He won a lot of races, took a lot of poles. But it isn’t just about speed. He will bring to the team the education he got from Mercedes about racing, about how to approach and manage the race, how to debrief after the race.

“To win, it’s a long process and I think Valtteri will be able to put a stone into the wall to try and improve because it’s about a continuous improvement. The fact we know each other pretty well is an advantage – we are straightforward together. I would be more than comfortable to say something – and same for him.”

There is more to come from Bottas, who is buzzing after escaping Lewis Hamilton’s shadow. He’s the leader at Alfa – and everyone will look to him for direction. Bottas isn’t nervous about that – he’s buzzing for it.

“I absolutely feel that I have so much more to do to get better and so much more to give to this sport,” said Bottas. “As a driver, I think you never stop learning, as long as you want to. So of course, I'm always looking at areas that I can be better, and it truly feels like now I can just be the best version of myself instead of trying to be something else and trying too hard.

“But in the end, it's going to be a team effort and I don't see me as the only leader of the team. We're in this together. That's the feeling. And of course I can guide the way they can go if I feel like I have experience from the past. But in the end, we're in this together with Guanyu [Zhou, his new rookie team mate] and the whole team, and with Robert [Kubica, Alfa Romeo’s reserve driver] as well. But for now, it's been a nice atmosphere and I'm more than happy to be here and again, I want to thank the team for this opportunity.”

Bottas is at a point in his career where he is well-placed to help rookie team mate Zhou Guanyu settle in quickly, and you get the feeling that’s one of the many things he will find rewarding this season – something which Vasseur is pleased to hear.

“On every single topic, [F1’s] different [to F2] but the approach is similar,” said Vasseur of the challenge facing Zhou. “It’s all about performance, management and bringing people together – and I think Zhou is a great catalyst for this. He can have a very nice attitude but also be pushy. It’s a good combination. He knows it will be a challenge. Valtteri and everyone in the team is ready to help him. As he has a very open mind, I’m sure he will do it.”

The climb back to the midfield is steep, but despite a difficult start to F1’s new era, optimism still flows through the halls of Hinwil. They believe the technical team has got this car right – they just need to get it working reliably and then extract performance quickly. They believe Bottas is the driver who can take them forward and are inspired by his belief in them. And they have the resource to compete with their immediate rivals – boosted recently by a plethora of new commercial deals – and a rookie driver who has the potential to get the job done.

'I Can Be The Best Version of Myself' At Alfa Romeo Says Bottas, As Team Unveils 2022 Colours

After five years of trying to match one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas has spoken of his belief that his 2022 move to Alfa Romeo will allow him to become the “best version” of himself.

Bottas drove alongside Lewis Hamilton for every season of his tenure with Mercedes, watching as the Briton claimed four out of the five drivers’ championships in that time – and 50 wins in the same period to Bottas’ 10.

And speaking at the unveiling of the Alfa Romeo team’s 2022 colours for its C42 challenger, Bottas spoke of his belief that his new environment would bring out the best in him.

“I am excited,” said Bottas. “It's a new challenge for me, it's a new project in a way and you need a certain mindset for it. And I'm absolutely ready for that at this stage of my career, where I've already gained quite a bit of experience.

“I absolutely feel that I have so much more to do to get better and so much more to give to this sport,” he added. “As a driver, I think you never stop learning, as long as you want to. So of course, I'm always looking at areas that I can be better, and it truly feels like now I can just be the best version of myself instead of trying to be something else and trying too hard.

“But in the end, it's going to be a team effort and I don't see me as the only leader of the team. We're in this together – that's the feeling.”

Optimistic though he may have been, Bottas’s start to pre-season running with Alfa Romeo did not go according to plan, the Finn achieving just 54 laps across three days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (team mate Zhou Guanyu managing 112, with Alfa reserve Robert Kubica taking only nine), as Alfa Romeo struggled with both porpoising and various mechanical gremlins.

But despite that, the Finn said the team’s C42 “definitely” had potential, as the team now regroup ahead of the Official Pre-Season Test at Bahrain on March 10-12.

“I've got some kind of feeling of course,” said Bottas of the car’s performance. “The nice feeling is that I definitely feel that there is potential. There's some strong areas in the car in certain type of corners.

“But also of course immediately, points to work on, with the balance, with some of the behaviour. But nothing that we shouldn't be able to fix. It feels like we're still in the very early stages of actually discovering the car.

“For me, it was quite limited running that we had,” added Bottas. “Only with two different [tyre] compounds, only with very few set-up changes, so there's still so much more to discover. That's what I'm really aiming to do in the test and get a better understanding in Bahrain.

“There's work to do – I'm not saying anything against that – but also I feel there is potential in this package, and I'm looking forward to discovering more about it with the team.”

Alfa Romeo Unveils Dramatic New Livery For 2022

Alfa Romeo have revealed images of the bold and striking red and white livery that will adorn their 2022 challenger – the C42.

The Swiss team ran a special camouflage design during three days of pre-season running in Barcelona, with Valtteri Bottas, rookie Zhou Guanyu and reserve Robert Kubica sharing driving duties.

A series of mechanical glitches confined the car to the garage for long periods, and they ultimately managed just 175 laps, putting them ninth out of 10 teams in the mileage charts.

On Sunday, they became the final squad to launch their season – showcasing a livery that they said is “a subtle nod to the past, recalling historical designs of years past and the heritage of Alfa Romeo and Sauber Motorsport” in what will be the Hinwil team’s 30th year in F1.

"The start of the season is always an exciting time, one in which we see the fruit of the work of hundreds of people over a long period of time,” said Team Principal Fred Vasseur.

“The C42 is a car we look forward to seeing racing, not just because it is the first we built in this new regulations cycle, one in which racing should be closer and more thrilling, but because we have the utmost confidence in this car helping the team make a big step forward towards the front of the grid.”

Technical Director Jan Monchaux added: “As we unveil the C42, it may feel like the start of a new season: we know, however, that this launch is just a milestone in a much longer journey in which our whole staff in Hinwil has invested so much time, resource and energies.

“Designing and building this car has been a huge undertaking and we can be proud of what we have achieved, but our work is not finished. As always in a new rules cycle, the development curve will be at its steepest this season and we need to continue extracting new performance out of the C42 to make the progress we have set as an objective for ourselves.”

Bottas, who joined from Mercedes and completed only 54 laps in Barcelona, said: “What is exciting is that we have no idea how that first race is going to pan out. Testing helped us confirm our expectations of where we stand, the progress we have made with the car, but now we are getting closer to the moment that really matters.

“Since I joined, I have seen so much motivation within this team: everyone is pushing a lot, trying to work harder than the others to be competitive, and that in turn gives me that extra boost when I am in the cockpit.”

Zhou, who finished third in F2 last year before stepping up to F1 with Alfa Romeo, said: “I am fully pumped up for the season and seeing the C42 in the livery in which I will race it definitely makes it real. We are at the beginning of a new era, with new cars and new regulations, and this creates an opportunity for all teams to make progress since we are all starting from scratch.

“Everyone at Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen has been incredibly helpful since I joined and seeing all the hard work, the commitment and motivation from everyone, in Hinwil and at the track, fills me with pride and excitement. I can’t wait to be on the grid with this car and work with my team to bring home the results we are targeting together.”

Alfa Romeo, along with their rival nine teams, will get the chance to gain more mileage with the new cars at the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain, which begins on March 10.

Hamilton Calls 2022 Pre-Season 'Most Exciting and Interesting' He's Experienced

Three days of pre-season running ended with Lewis Hamilton on top on Day 3, the seven-time champion having set the fastest lap as the clock ticked down. Before that, the Briton spoke about his excitement over shaking down the 2022 cars.

Hamilton’s first taste of the 2022 Mercedes W13 came at a Silverstone shakedown after their car launch, but he enjoyed a productive three days – completing 184 laps over three days before setting the ultimate benchmark on Friday.

Though this is Hamilton’s 16th season in F1, he was still brimming with anticipation for the season to begin, as he told the media: “Arriving and looking down the pit lane and seeing all the different cars, I think it's one of the most exciting and interesting seasons that I've ever embarked upon.

“It will be interesting to see where everyone comes out and where we stand in the first race.”

Much of that enthusiasm, reasoned Hamilton, was due to the new era of cars being built under a wide-ranging new set of technical rules changes – with fuel, tyres and of course aerodynamics being overhauled.

“I think every year's exciting,” he continued, “but of course [in] previous years it was an evolution of the previous year’s car, so in this one, it's completely brand new. Of course, I've seen the designs of our car over several months, but now to see everyone’s car out there, you're trying to get a close eye to see what is different, if there is anything, why certain teams have chosen a certain route in terms of sidepod design, front wing and the floor.

“So I think it's the most exciting [year], and again, you have absolutely no idea where you stand,” he added.

The standings of course had Hamilton on top on Day 3, his team mate George Russell second on the timesheets – but there’s still plenty of work to do before the field heads to Bahrain for the Official Pre-Season Test and opening Grand Prix on March 20.

The 5 Key Questions From 2022 Pre-Season Running In Barcelona

Attempting to draw conclusions from the timing charts in pre-season running is traditionally a risky business as teams run a variety of programmes – and that makes comparisons tricky. But there is still plenty to dig into from the three days of track action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya…

Have Ferrari sprung a surprise?

Ferrari caused quite a stir when they launched the curvaceous F1-75, the red machine featuring a series of innovative touches that impressed onlookers up and down the paddock. Their boss Mattia Binotto said at the time that his technical team had been “brave” with the design, as they look to recapture former glories, so there was a great deal of satisfaction – and rightly so – inside Maranello when the car hit the track and was hooked up straight away.

Watching trackside, the F1-75 looked like it was on rails from day one, and was among the most impressive machines as it swept through the high-speed turns. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were able to lean on it quite quickly and thanks to brilliant reliability, they had plenty of seat time, with Ferrari ending the event with the most mileage of all – 430 laps.

Courtesy of a dreadful 2020 season, where they ended the year sixth, Ferrari were afforded a larger amount of wind tunnel and CFD testing time in the first half of last year – as per the rules – compared to Mercedes and Red Bull. And on initial inspection, it seems like they’ve made the most of those vital extra hours.

Their rivals were impressed by what they saw, but Ferrari were keen to play their form down – with Binotto admitting the F1-75 will be largely unchanged for the next test in Bahrain as they look to refine the package they brought to Barcelona, whereas it is anticipated Mercedes and Red Bull will bring significantly updated packages.

Are Ferrari going to be the class leaders at the first race in Bahrain? It’s unlikely, given the prowess of Mercedes and Red Bull. But are they going to be much closer than they were last year – and thus potentially in the hunt to challenge for podiums and wins more regularly? The early evidence suggests yes.

Are McLaren in the fight?

McLaren have been a team on a charge in recent years and their performance over three days in Barcelona gave no reason to think that won’t continue into the coming campaign.

Lando Norris was keen to play down their eye-catching pace on the opening day – and it’s true that there’s very little point reading too much into it, as we don’t know what fuel loads, engine settings or set-ups everyone was running.

However, they were one of the most reliable teams in Spain, ending the week third in the mileage charts and internally, there was satisfaction that the car was responding as expected. Daniel Ricciardo is in a much better place than this time last year, and while it’s still early days, he seems comfortable in the car. Norris continues to go from strength to strength, and takes confidence from how well the team operated and ticked off their to-do list in Barcelona.

At the very least, they still look like a top-four team. As everyone shifts their attention towards performance in Bahrain, we’ll get more clues as to whether they’ve closed the gap to the top two teams.

Just how good are Mercedes?

The timesheets took on a familiar look, despite sweeping changes to the regulations, on the third and final day of running in Barcelona as Lewis Hamilton led George Russell in a Mercedes one-two.

Lap times, as we keep saying, are not worth reading into, but the fact that the world champions managed their highest mileage count of the three days on Friday was impressive. Both drivers didn’t seem overly happy with how the car felt on day one, but those feelings improved as the event went on.

It was an ominous sign that not only were they happy enough with the reliability of their car to do plenty of practice starts across the three days, but they flew through their programme, to enable them to start race simulation prep and lower fuel runs before the session was out.

It wasn’t all smiles, with Hamilton saying the team had several “obstacles to overcome” and that they were “a little behind” where they want to be. But it is also widely expected the eight-time reigning world champions will bring a heavily updated car to the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain.

Is there substance behind Red Bull’s style?

Red Bull caused a scene when they revealed the ‘real’ RB18 on the opening morning of running at Barcelona, the new machine sporting a highly innovative design, with several features not seen on other cars.

World champion Max Verstappen had a ruthlessly efficient opening day of running, and while a few gremlins crept in on day two, which limited Sergio Perez to less than a century of laps, they rebounded with aplomb on the final day to end up fourth in the mileage charts.

Both drivers reported a stable balance from the outset and said the car felt good to drive, which is ultimately the key focus in these early days. They won’t be worried about not troubling the top of the timing charts, not least because sources say they will have a significantly upgraded car in Bahrain.

Those developments will have been in the works for months and signed off well before Barcelona. The question now is whether they will deliver as the simulations have suggested – and also whether the team are able to get the most out of them. The early signs, as is the case for the main rivals Mercedes, are good.

Is it as bad as it looks for some?

While the top teams had near-perfect running in Spain, it wasn’t such smooth sailing for others. Alfa Romeo and Haas were hit hardest, the duo ending ninth and 10th respectively in the mileage charts having been blighted by a series of little mechanical gremlins that forced them to spend too much time in the garage.

In a season where track time is so important, with every lap delivering critical data to understand this new generation of cars, such poor reliability out of the box is obviously not ideal. But they did each have at least one successful morning or afternoon where they could get some consistent running in, and that gives them something to build on over the next 10 days or so before the Bahrain test.

Alpine appear to be on the back foot, too, with Fernando Alonso managing a meagre 12 laps on the final day, courtesy of a hydraulics issue that forced an early finish to running.

They were frustrated to be without DRS – which would have cost them around seven tenths of a second – throughout, and a limited number of parts meant both Alonso and Esteban Ocon did not push hard. But internally, they felt they’d made a breakthrough with changes made overnight Thursday through to Friday, to give them confidence heading to Bahrain.

Pre-season is designed to be an opportunity for teams to learn about their cars and iron out any creases – so little niggles are to be expected. But they will hope they are few and far between when they get to the Bahrain desert, so the focus can be on performance rather than reliability.

Horner Says Running #1 on Verstappen's Car Has 'Energised' Red Bull

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said the satisfaction of running #1 on reigning champion Max Verstappen’s car has spurred the team on to fight in 2022.

Verstappen has made no bones about his desire to run the #1 on his RB18 contender this year, a privilege afforded to the reigning drivers’ champion but last enjoyed in a full-time season by Sebastian Vettel in 2014 – for Red Bull. Horner spoke about the catalytic effect his driver’s success has had upon the outfit.

“I mean, sticking that number one on the car after all the pain that we went through last year, the fight that it was in 2021, and now the fight is to make sure we retain it on the car... it’s just energised everyone in the team,” he said.

“You can see a spring in everybody’s step and it gives people confidence as well, which is such an important thing in any sport – which is to not have arrogance, but confidence – and I think that runs through the organisation.”

Red Bull completed their three-day Barcelona programme with 258 laps and a best time of 1m 19.556s set by Sergio Perez on the final afternoon. Their boss was clearly optimistic, calling it an “encouraging start” – and expressed his anticipation for the battle that lies ahead with Mercedes and, perhaps, Ferrari and McLaren.

“Yes, so far it’s great to be back on track – these new cars are very, very different, so it’s sort of a ‘get to know you’ process with this new car, the RB18, and so far, the feedback’s been good. It’s behaving as we expected and as our tools predicted. So, it’s been an encouraging start,” he continued.

The campaign starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20, which takes place after the Official Pre-Season Test on March 10-12.

“It’s what everybody wants to see. You want to see the best drivers in the world, fighting wheel-to-wheel, and I think Ferrari could be in there this year, McLaren looking strong, so you might have a few candidates – and don’t forget George Russell. I think he’s going to be a key component in this championship, as well.”

How All 10 Teams Fared After Showing Off Their 2022 Cars In Barcelona Pre-Season Testing

Three days of pre-season running have been and gone in Barcelona, giving the teams not just a chance to grab some valuable track time, but to also see just how good the opposition is looking. Seven red flags, one costly brush with the walls and a fair few wet laps added to the excitement, as the new 2022 cars took to the track in anger at last. But who managed the most laps, and who looked quick?

Mercedes

Total Laps – 392

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.138s (Hamilton)

All things considered, that was a very solid three days for the Silver Arrows. George Russell slotted into his new team seamlessly, managing a good haul of laps with no noticeable reliability issues. Although he tried to put the pressure back onto the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, implying they were ahead, the form of the Mercedes on the last day in both wet and dry conditions puts them firmly in the mix.

Add in Lewis Hamilton’s impressive 94 laps achieved on Friday afternoon alone, and it is clear to see the team are in a good place heading into the Bahrain test.

Red Bull

Total Laps – 358

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.556s (Perez)

Red Bull had a very good first and last day of pre-season running, but they did suffer a small hiccup on Day 2. That was when Sergio Perez was in the car, the Mexican forced to pull over with a gearbox issue. The fix was a while coming, and as such the Mexican lost plenty of running.

Fortunately, he was able to make up for lost time on Friday afternoon, albeit in wet conditions. As for Max Verstappen, no signs of rustiness were evident for the reigning world champion, who hammered out 147 laps on the first day and seemed relatively happy with his 2022 contender.

McLaren

Total Laps – 365

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.568s (Norris)

Two of the most relaxed drivers on the grid were dressed in papaya this week. And why not – Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris completed a trouble-free set of programmes, with a huge number of laps and some of the most eye-catching times to boot.

Norris topped the first day, Ricciardo was on top at lunchtime on Day 2, and by and large they look to have a very decent package. They even experimented with following other cars at times, with both drivers noting an improvement which bodes well for close, exciting racing. Can they up their win tally of one from last season? It certainly looks promising on first glance.

Ferrari

Total Laps – 439

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.689s (Leclerc)

Managing the most laps of any team, with no reliability woes and looking quick to boot, Barcelona can rank as a very good outing for the Scuderia. The laps were split relatively evenly between the two drivers, who both looked comfortable from the off.

Is this set to be their year? The drivers were quick to downplay the notion, and certainly there was plenty of experimentation in terms of their floor design, so there is room for improvement. But it is so far, so good for the Prancing Horse.

Aston Martin

Total Laps – 295

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.824s (Vettel)

It was going well for Aston Martin, with a decent amount of mileage across the first two days and no apparent issues, as they eased themselves in and starting to explore the possibilities that the AMR22 had to offer.

But Sebastian Vettel was forced to park trackside at the end of the morning session on Day 3, smoke pouring from the rear of his car. Once the car was recovered to the pits, a small oil leak was detected, but it couldn’t be fixed in time to get the car out on track, leaving Lance Stroll short of laps. The Canadian may want to jump into the simulator before Bahrain to see if he can play catch up.

AlphaTauri

Total Laps – 308

Fastest Lap – 1m 19.918s (Gasly)

Yuki Tsunoda was reasonably chatty after driving the car on Day 1 – to everyone except his team mate it seems, with the Japanese driver joking he wouldn’t tell Pierre Gasly anything about how the car was feeling. It didn’t seem to bother the Frenchman though, who had a very productive second day and seemed happy with the car he had been handed.

Unfortunately, Gasly did make a mistake on Friday morning, as he locked up and crunched into the wall down at Turn 5. The damage sustained couldn’t be fixed across the afternoon and that meant no second outing for Tsunoda. But with plenty of laps across the first two days, all is not lost for AlphaTauri, who have been tipped as dark horses ahead of this season.

Williams

Total Laps – 347

Fastest Lap – 1m 20.318s (Albon)

Plenty of ticks for Williams in Barcelona, notably on the reliability front. Their first two days went off without a hitch, Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon both getting in very decent mileage. Day 3 didn’t quite go to plan, with the team opting to split the day into quarters rather than halves, to ensure both drivers had dry and wet weather running.

As it was, Latifi got the short end of the stick and only managed 13 laps, but Albon was close to hitting a century and doesn’t seem to have wasted any time getting back up to speed on his return to F1.

Alpine

Total Laps – 264

Fastest Lap – 1m 21.242s (Alonso)

Alpine spent their first two days testing aero parts, running rakes and flow-vis for a number of laps. They managed a fair whack of mileage, which was just as well, as their Friday running was not ideal. Fernando Alonso was in the car in the morning, but pulled up on track after going top, with smoke billowing from the rear of his car.

That related to a loss of pressure according to the team, and although they recovered the car quickly, they soon called time on their day, citing that the damage sustained was too lengthy to repair. That meant no more laps for Esteban Ocon on Friday, but fortunately he'd already managed to get 125 under his belt and so isn’t too far behind the curve.

Haas

Total Laps – 160

Fastest Lap – 1m 21.512s (Mazepin)

Pre-season running wasn’t kind to Haas, despite the team having turned their attention towards their 2022 car much earlier than the rest of the grid. A coolant issue derailed the start of the first day for the American outfit, before their afternoon was hampered by floor damage.

Roll on Day 2 and Nikita Mazepin brought out the red flags after a fuel pump issue was detected, but at least Mick Schumacher managed 66 laps in the afternoon sun. Reliability woes apparently solved, it was on to Day 3 – but disaster struck again, this time in the form of an oil leak that limited Mazepin to just the nine laps, and his team mate to none at all. They are most definitely playing catch-up – which is far from ideal with just three days more of testing to come.

Alfa Romeo

Total Laps – 175

Fastest Lap – 1m 21.885s (Zhou)

Along with Haas, Alfa Romeo were the other team to struggle on the reliability front at pre-season running. Reserve driver Robert Kubica had the reins in the first session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but the Pole was limited to just nine laps. New boy Valtteri Bottas didn’t do much better in the afternoon either, nor the following morning – a broken part blamed for the disrupted running.

The good news was that rookie Zhou Guanyu got the lion’s share of the luck, managing 71 laps in the afternoon of Day 2, and a further 41 on Friday morning. He did spin into the gravel, beaching the car, which brought out the red flags, and then parked up on the main straight after finally getting back out. That curtailed his running – and Bottas could only add a further 10 laps, leaving the Finn very short of practice at his new team.

Teething Troubles, Wet Weather Runs and Fun 2022 Cars - What We Learned From Day 3 of Pre-Season Running at Barcelona

As sunset approached at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, Lewis Hamilton bolted to the top of the timesheets to make it a Mercedes one-two on the third and final day of pre-season running. It’s wise not to read too much into that level of performance – but there was still plenty we did learn…

Mileage not as strong on final day

Arguably the most impressive aspect of pre-season running at Barcelona this year was the incredible reliability most teams delivered straight out of the box with race cars that were brand new and built to a formula that has never hit a track in anger.

But mileage slipped on the final day, with only half the teams completing 100 laps or more. A caveat is that they were all hampered by a truncated day that featured not one, not two, but five red flag stoppages and an afternoon of wet weather running after the track was artificially watered to gather data for Pirelli.

And while it was difficult for some, things were rosier for others. Mercedes had their best day in terms of total laps, as they headed the mileage count with 155, with McLaren next best on 132 and Ferrari – who topped the week with 430 – ending on 130. At the other end of the spectrum, Haas have just nine to show for their day, while Alpine were marginally better with 12.

Niggles start to creep in for some

Alpine, Aston Martin and Haas suffered mechanical problems so significant, they spent much of Friday in the garage, and even ended their days early.

Alpine, who were without the use of DRS all week (which will have cost them around seven tenths of second in terms of lap time), managed 266 laps across three days, but it ended up short of 300 after a “low pressure issue” ended Fernando Alonso’s time in the car before lunch.

Aston Martin and Sebastian Vettel lost the final few hours of the day to an oil leak – and there was another leak over at Haas, who have had their fair share of gremlins this week. It was frustrating for Valtteri Bottas, too, the Finn getting just 10 laps to add to the meagre 44 he managed across the first two days.

This is pre-season, mind – so there’s no need to sound the alarm bells. This track time is designed to give teams an opportunity to iron out niggles, and with brand new cars, it’s normal that little problems are likely to spring up. The key is to get on top of them quickly – and fortunately for all 10 operations, they have the Official Pre-Season Test left for more checks before we go racing proper in Bahrain in the middle of next month.

Red Bull and Mercedes start to show their form

Red Bull did a great job of hiding their RB18 until the very last moment, the car breaking cover for the first time when running began in Barcelona. The design was very different to its rivals – and it has emerged that this is only an early iteration.

Sources say Red Bull will bring a significantly upgraded car to Bahrain, as was always the plan, and after a reasonably productive opening test focused on reliability and system checks, they’ll turn their attention to chasing performance next week.

Mercedes, who looked marginally better than their main rivals Red Bull in Barcelona, brought improvements to the car across the three days in Spain and are widely expected to bring a heavily upgraded car – again as planned – to Bahrain, in a strategy we’ve seen them employ several times in the previous years.

The world champions were in such a comfortable position on Friday, they were able to turn their attention to low fuel runs on soft tyres and a few longer stints on high fuel to simulate race simulations.

2022-spec F1 cars are fun to drive

The more time drivers spend behind the wheel of these new generation of cars, the more they are enjoying it. Aside from the early feedback suggesting that being able to follow cars closer will be easier – as was intended by the new rules – it is clear drivers are getting a kick out of their new machines, particularly through the fast corners.

“Overall, they have probably outperformed the initial projections that Formula 1 set for these new regulations that we had seen,” said Russell. “We have seen every single team is faster than the full second slower than they were planned to be. The high-speed performances are definitely on par with what we were seeing last year which is pretty impressive.”

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly added: “I must say they are fun. Last year, I feel pretty lucky we managed to experience the fastest car in the history of Formula 1. They were amazing to drive and I think our starting point in terms of performance is not so far from last year. So considering all the development that we are going to see at the start of the season, over the next couple of months, I think we will see pretty much similar performances.

“The car seems to work really well in the high speed and that's where we get usually the most excited. So really looking forward to Silverstone, Suzuka, all these tracks. So, if we are able to be a lot closer to each other in racing that could make a lot of adrenaline, which is always what we are looking for so excited for that.”

Perez Encouraged By Red Bull's 'Good Baseline' After Barcelona Running

Sergio Perez left Barcelona feeling optimistic after Red Bull’s pre-season showing in Spain – saying that the team built a solid foundation on which to continue when the Official Pre-Season Test begins in Bahrain.

Perez completed 152 laps – 11th in the mileage stakes – over the three days, and posted the third-fastest time on Day 3 behind the two Mercedes. He also tested Pirelli’s 18-inch intermediate compounds early on Friday afternoon.

Reflecting on the three-day session, he said: “Yes, I think we got a good baseline. I definitely think we have a good potential. It’s obviously very early days. I really hope that we are able to make a good step come Bahrain, and yes, [I hope we will] just keep progressing from all the information that we gathered from here.”

With Red Bull defending the drivers’ title and aiming to secure their first constructors’ championship since 2013, Perez was asked what the team needed to do in order to push towards their ultimate goal.

“I think it’s a progression throughout the year; it’s important just to keep making steps, keep making progress, and keep learning from my driving, the way I’m adapting the car and the team – what’s the best way to maximise it?” he replied.

“Because, I think it’s going to be quite a different challenge from qualifying… to race day. You have seen these cars [porpoising] so I think it’s going to be a challenge to maximise the whole weekend.”

Team mate Max Verstappen ran in the morning of the final day for a P4 finish on Friday, completing 206 laps over the three-day programme. The reigning champion was clearly enthused by his brand-new RB18 challenger.

"I really enjoy driving the car," said Verstappen. "It has a nice stable balance and I think they look cool as well, so that’s always nice to jump into.

"Of course, quite a few red flags so… we could not complete our whole programme, but everything was working well, the car felt good, [and I] just continued from what I did on Day 1. I think [that was] the most important objective here for us," he added.

The teams head to Sakhir soon, preparing not just for the Official Pre-Season Test, but the opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.

Bottas Hoping Alfa Romeo 'Can Make Up the Time We Lost' After Completing Just 10 Laps on Final Day of Barcelona Running

Valtteri Bottas held the lowest lap count of any full-time F1 driver after three days of pre-season running in Barcelona, but brushed off the gremlins that Alfa Romeo faced as he looked forward to Bahrain.

The former Mercedes driver stepped into the C42 in Barcelona and completed just 54 laps – less than any other driver bar Alfa Romeo reserve Robert Kubica (nine laps) – with 10 of them coming on Friday. A reliability issue and a spin cut short the team’s running.

Despite that, the Finn said: “It was a positive day, with quite a bit of running and some good indications until nearly the end of the session. I was able to run with the C3 compound, but unfortunately a spin and a small hydraulic leak meant I couldn’t try the C4 tyres.

“It’s only testing and we can’t really compare what we are doing against the other teams, but the feeling is that we are going in the right direction. The most important thing is to work together as a team to make sure we take a step forward ahead of testing in Bahrain.”

Rookie team mate Zhou Guanyu stopped twice in the morning of Day 3, before Bottas took the wheel, yet he hailed “good progress” by the team over the three days. The Chinese driver managed 112 laps over the week, meaning only Haas covered less ground than Alfa Romeo.

“The team has made good progress with the C42, even though I wasn’t able to get all the running I would have liked,” said Zhou. “A few technical issues stopped us in the afternoon, but the data we collected during the morning session will allow us to keep working and developing the car.

“Our focus switches to making the most of the time between now and the Bahrain test, and maximising our mileage when we get there. I am confident we can make up the time we lost and be fully ready for the season ahead,” he concluded.

The camouflage comes off the C42 on Sunday when the team unveil their official livery – before Alfa Romeo head to Bahrain for the Official Pre-Season Test on March 10-12.

Hamilton Says Mercedes Had 'Obstacles to Overcome' Despite Topping Barcelona Pre-Season Running

Lewis Hamilton laid down a marker on the final day of pre-season running in Barcelona, setting the fastest time witnessed at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2022. But Hamilton’s satisfaction was tainted by a number of “obstacles” that his Mercedes team had had to face in Spain.

Mercedes actually took a one-two – ahead of the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen – on Day 3 of pre-season running in Barcelona, Hamilton clocking a week’s-best lap time of 1m 19.138s, 0.095s quicker than new team mate George Russell’s 1m 19.233s from earlier in the day.

So, having spent three days getting to know the new Mercedes W13 – built to F1’s sweeping new 2022 technical regulations – how did Hamilton rate his time in Barcelona?

“It's been an interesting few days,” he told the media on Friday evening. “It’s not been the easiest, or the most smooth running. We've definitely had some obstacles to overcome. But we've got through as much as we wanted – of course we can always do more laps but I'm happy with today's. I think I almost got 100 laps in today, so for half a day running, that's not too bad.

“We're a little bit behind on the last two days. The car's a lot different to previous years to drive, as are the tyres, but we're working our way through it.”

Mercedes are well-known for not showing their full hand in pre-season running, while it’s believed that the W13 will be significantly different by the time it arrives in Bahrain for the Official Pre-Season Test on March 10-12.

And perhaps because of that, Hamilton wasn’t drawing too many conclusions about the pecking order from his Barcelona running.

“You never do [find out the pecking order] on the first week,” he said. “You never do. We have no idea where everyone is.

“But the whole team have done an amazing job this week. The men and women back at the factory have done an awesome job, so we just need to download all this data and just get through as much as we can next week and just put one foot in front of the other.”

Why Friday's Wet Weather Test in Barcelona Gave Us a Tantalizing Insight Into 2022's Aero Changes

The image above, taken during Barcelona’s wet track running session at the end of the final day, tells a very positive story about the 2022 aero regulations.

In order to make the aerodynamic wake less damaging to the performance of the car behind, the regulations sought to a) channel as much airflow as possible between the rear wheels rather than outboard of them and b) to raise the wake from the diffuser/beam wing/rear wing much higher into the air, leaving a pocket of relatively undisturbed air directly behind.

The image above shows that the vortices of spinning air created from the leading and outer edges of the floor are being pulled back inboard and curling around the inside of the rear tyre. From there, they will merge with the airflow exiting the diffuser, adding to the energy there and helping take that wake higher.

Observation of the cars as they ran down the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s long straight in a circuit wetted by water tankers after the lunch break showed the wake becoming dramatically higher as the cars accelerated.

The ramp angle of the venturi channel’s diffuser is continued by the underside of the beam wing just behind, and that in turn links to the underside of the main wing. It creates a vertical expansion of the air pressure in that region, sending that wake sharply upwards.

In the previous cars, much of the airflow was directed outboard of the rear tyres, and that coming through the diffuser – which was less steeply ramped – was expanded outwards. It made the wake of the car very low and wide – the worst possible combination for the following car.

Comments from drivers tend to confirm the effectiveness of what the image is showing: “I can tell you I already felt some differences,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz after deliberately closely tracking other cars. “It’s pretty obvious already and I’m relatively positive about it – optimistic that it’s, I think, going in the right direction.”

Pierre Gasly confirmed that: “Yes, it is definitely better, and I think you will see a difference.”

Hamilton Fastest on Disrupted Final Day of Pre-Season Running in Barcelona

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the week on the final day of pre-season running in Barcelona, after five red flags truncated the morning session, and Pirelli conducted a wet weather tyre test in the early afternoon.

Hamilton lit the sectors purple with a very late effort of 1m 19.138s to put Mercedes at the top on Day 3. Team mate George Russell was fastest in the morning, amid five stoppages. The first red flag was for Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, thick smoke pouring out of his A522. The team soon stated that they would call an early end to their pre-season programme in Spain due to that hydraulic issue.

Pierre Gasly crashed his AlphaTauri soon after that, while Zhou Guanyu’s pair of stoppages brought further pauses to proceedings – before Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin stopped in the final minutes of the morning session due to an oil leak and resulting fire. Alpine, AlphaTauri, Haas and Aston Martin were absent in the afternoon thanks to their respective reliability issues.

Runner-up Russell posted 66 laps to lead the morning session (dropping to P2 as Hamilton set the benchmark) before third-place Red Bull driver Sergio Perez jumped up the order with a late effort. That dropped Perez's team mate Max Verstappen to fourth, with Sebastian Vettel posting a lap worthy of P5 before his Aston Martin stopped in a cloud of smoke.

The low hum of trucks signalled the build-up to the afternoon session, tankers circling the circuit while dropping water in their wake for the teams to run Pirelli’s 18-inch wet and intermediate tyres. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz had a brief stint on the full wet tyres before switching to intermediates, soon to be joined by the likes of Hamilton and Perez.

Sixth-place Charles Leclerc took the morning's running for Ferrari before Carlos Sainz put himself seventh in the afternoon.

The Williams pair were next on the leaderboard, seventh-place Alex Albon ahead of team mate Nicholas Latifi. Albon bookended the day as Latifi finished the morning stint and headed out for the wet weather test.

That left Ricciardo rounding out the top 10 for McLaren while team mate Norris finished 11th.

Alonso settled for 12th but his and Alpine’s pre-season running in Barcelona was halted prematurely after his early hydraulics issue. He was followed by rookie Zhou (P13) on the timesheets, the Chinese driver handing the wheel over to team mate Valtteri Bottas for the afternoon. The Finn took P16, last on the timesheets, and added just 10 laps to his count on Friday afternoon.

Gasly’s (P14) morning crash at Turn 5 resulted in a broken front wing and suspension, preventing AlphaTauri team mate Yuki Tsunoda from running in the afternoon.

After Nikita Mazepin, 15th, encountered an issue in the morning, limiting him to just nine laps, Haas announced in the afternoon that they would not be returning to the track due to lengthy repairs, ending their session early.

An intriguing three days of running therefore ended with Hamilton on top, his Friday afternoon flyer proving to be the fastest time of the week – after Norris topped Day 1 and Leclerc topped Day 2.

Bahrain hosts the Official Pre-Season Test on March 10-12, the 2022 field set to return on March 18-20 for the season-opening Grand Prix.

Russell Fastest on Final Morning of Barcelona Running Amid Flurry of Red Flags

Mercedes topped their first pre-season session of 2022 as George Russell led the leaderboard on the third and final morning in Barcelona – but five red flags, including two separate accidents, punctuated proceedings.

All 10 cars emerged on the chilly Barcelona morning, but the session was red-flagged before the hour mark when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (P7, 12 laps) stopped with smoke emerging from the back of his A522. Alpine then stated that they would not emerge for the rest of the day, citing a hydraulics issue.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (P9) brought out the second pause when he crashed at Turn 5, causing front wing and suspension damage – and leaving an hour of the session remaining. Zhou Guanyu (P8) stopped in the gravel at Turn 10 soon after Gasly’s incident, green flags leaving around 30 minutes to play. But the session was once again stopped when he crawled to a halt on the main straight – and for a fifth time when Sebastian Vettel (P3) stopped with around five minutes left.

George Russell went fastest for Mercedes before Gasly and Zhou’s incidents, posting a session-high 66 laps and setting the eventual benchmark of 1m 19.233s. Team mate Lewis Hamilton runs in the afternoon – hoping to add more to his tally after a data-logging issue and a sensor issue curtailed his Thursday morning stint.

Max Verstappen’s best effort of 1m 19.765s put the champion second to Russell. And Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel took P3 before Zhou's second issue, leaving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – fastest on Day 2 – fourth in the morning.

Williams’ Nicholas Latifi rounded out the top five, but was afforded just five laps. The Canadian swapped with team mate Alex Albon (P10) midway through the morning and his team plan to swap the pair once again in the middle of the afternoon session.

Lando Norris took P6 for McLaren, finishing ahead of stricken Alpine driver Alonso. Zhou was next on the board for Alfa Romeo, completing 41 laps on his way to P8 before the stoppages.

With Gasly ninth and Albon 10th, Haas’s Nikita Mazepin was last on the board. Reliability troubles continued for the team, Mazepin having completed just nine laps due to what Haas called a “suspected leak”.

The final afternoon of 2022 pre-season running in Barcelona will see Pirelli artificially soak the circuit for teams to run the 18-inch wet and intermediate compounds – the likes of Hamilton and Sergio Perez to take duties, with every team changing drivers.

Formula 1 Issues Statement on the Russian Grand Prix

The FIA Formula 1 World Championship visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together.

We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.

On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.

Pirelli to Conduct Wet Weather Test in the Final Session of Barcelona Running

The final day of pre-season running in Barcelona will see the drivers test Pirelli's 2022 wet and intermediate tyres on an artificially soaked track.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has hosted the first pre-season sessions of 2022, but the third and final day will see F1's official tyre suppliers, Pirelli, test their 18-inch wet compounds.

They will soak the circuit artificially, the chance of rain hovering at around 20% on Friday, with teams expected to be able to run blue-banded wet and green-banded intermediate compounds in the afternoon.

The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo are set to drive in the afternoon – with all 20 drivers to take the wheel on the final day in Spain.

A wide-ranging set of changes to the technical regulations have been coupled with Pirelli's change to 18-inch tyres for the 2022 season.

Who Is Running on Day 3 of Pre-Season Running in Spain?

The final day of running looms in Spain ahead of the 2022 season – but what's the driver line-up on Day 3 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya?

Wednesday saw Lando Norris top the timesheets before Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari first on Thursday – all the drivers having taken the wheel so far, including Alfa Romeo reserve Robert Kubica and their rookie Zhou Guanyu.

Friday is set to be a markedly different day to the previous two, however, with a 40% chance of rain – expected to hit the circuit later in the day – set to change things up. Furthermore, Pirelli will conduct a wet-weather test in the afternoon, regardless of the weather.

As usual, the morning session begins at 0900 local time, while the afternoon session gets under way at 1400 local time.

Alpine Calls Early End to Barcelona Running After Hydraulic Issue

Alpine have called a premature end to their pre-season running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, after Fernando Alonso stopped out on track on Friday morning.

Alonso was lapping in the Alpine A522 on the final day of pre-season running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, when the two-time champion was forced to pull up at Turn 13 as fire and smoke billowed from the new car.

After the car was brought back to the garage, the team then made the decision not to send it back out again, meaning they’ll miss the final afternoon's running in Spain – the first hour of which was allocated for Pirelli wet weather tyre running.

A statement from the team said: “After further investigations in the garage following Fernando Alonso’s on-track stoppage earlier this morning, the team can confirm the issue was a problem with the hydraulics. A minor sealing issue led to a fire in the back of the car.

“The team has successfully completed 266 laps during the three days of the Barcelona shakedown. Repairs on the car will continue, and as a result we won’t be running for the remainder of the day. We look forward to be back in action at the next test in Bahrain.”

The news will be a setback for Alpine, who would have been hoping to gather more data on the A522 and its all-new Renault power unit – which Alonso called “a step forward” when speaking to the media on Thursday.

After Haas encountered a leak in the morning, they did not emerge for the afternoon session and later stated: "Whilst we'd hoped that the car would be able to return this afternoon, the repair work is going to take several more hours, so unfortunately we will not be back on track today."

Haas to Use All-White Livery on Final Day of Barcelona Pre-Season Running

Haas have announced that they will use an all-white livery for the final day of pre-season running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

In an official statement from the team, Haas confirmed that they would run their car in “plain white”, dropping title sponsor Uralkali’s name from the VF-22’s flanks.

The statement from Haas said: “Haas F1 Team will present its VF-22 in a plain white livery, minus Uralkali branding, for the third and final day of track running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday 25 February. Nikita Mazepin will drive as planned in the morning session with Mick Schumacher taking over in the afternoon.”

The statement added that “no further comment will be made at this time regarding team partner agreements”.

Red Flags, Porposing and Zhou's First Outing - What We Learned From Day 2 of Pre-Season Running In Barcelona

Formula 1’s new generation of racing cars made good use of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Thursday, with the total lap count cracking the 1,000-mark. There was plenty to discuss with reliability, insight into the emerging pecking order and chatter about porpoising high on the agenda…

Lap counts point to strong winters for most

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto did his best to play down the Scuderia’s promising start to pre-season when he chatted to media on Thursday in Barcelona, but there was no hiding the fact the Prancing Horse is on the front foot as we head into the final day of the three-day session at Barcelona.

For the second day in succession, Ferrari topped the lap charts with 150, bringing their tally for the event so far to 303. Carlos Sainz didn’t fancy entertaining talk about performance, but he did intriguingly tell me that Ferrari is “nowhere near the limit” right now, on a day when his team mate Charles Leclerc topped the times.

Sure, teams won’t be chasing performance – with drivers easily able to go several seconds quicker if they wanted to – but the fact the car has been so strong out of the box, reacted well to set-up changes and been super reliable with no major glitches, means it’s about as good a start as Binotto’s team could have hoped for heading into a campaign where they had been “brave” with their 2022 concept.

There were useful days for AlphaTauri and Aston Martin, too, the duo securing tallies of 147 and 128 respectively. But it wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone. Haas made a century of laps – with Mick Schumacher getting a Grand Prix distance under his belt – but Nikita Mazepin lost more track time with a damaged fuel pump.

Valtteri Bottas had a difficult day once more, the Finn adding a paltry 21 laps to the 23 he managed on Day 1. Fortunately, his rookie team mate Zhou Guanyu got 71 on the board – but after two days of running, the Swiss team are left with the biggest to-do list after a flurry of little glitches.

This season is only two days old, mind, and things can change quickly – as Red Bull found out when Sergio Perez brought the first red flag of the week out when he stopped out on track. After a smooth run for Max Verstappen on Day 1, Perez had a disjointed day and ended up with 78 laps.

Russell gives his view on performance

Chatter about performance is always a difficult game in testing, with teams running a variety of fuel loads, set-ups and programmes as they focus on their own preparations. But that doesn’t mean teams don’t look at their data and estimate what others are doing for comparison, just to give them a rough idea of the state of play.

Equally, the more drivers get a feel for their own car as well as see how others perform out on track – both from watching trackside or inside the cockpit when they encounter rivals – the more they can start to build a picture.

George Russell, who managed a Spanish Grand Prix race distance on Thursday afternoon, told me that “some teams are looking pretty fast. A red team and an orange team in particular look very, very competitive.”

When I asked him where he thought Mercedes sat relative to Ferrari and McLaren, he replied: “Certainly not ahead, I’m pretty sure of that. They seem to have things well under control and they look very strong, low fuel and high fuel, and with the tyre management.

“Who knows? We all know that we’re on different programmes, but we definitely know from the average of all of the different runs, we’re behind them at the moment. Let’s wait and see. The championship is not won in Barcelona in winter testing.”

F1’s newest phenomenon – porpoising

Porpoising – or in other words violent bouncing on the suspension at high speeds – has become a buzzword in the Barcelona paddock, with most drivers complaining of the sensation during the opening two days of running.

Chatting about it on Thursday, Binotto reckons Ferrari and all of the teams will quickly get on top of the problem.

“I think most of us at least underestimated the problem, in terms of [being] on track and bouncing more than expected,” said Binotto. “When you're setting these cars up with the ground [effect] floor, the situation is different. It's a learning process.

“I think that solving it can be quite straightforward. Optimising the performance… could be a less easy exercise. I am pretty sure that at some stage the team will get to the solution. How long it will take? The ones that will get there sooner will have an advantage at the start of the season.”

Russell added: “We did not experience it too much, for one reason or another but it is not very pleasant at all. But there are a lot of intelligent people up and down this grid and I am sure everybody will get on top of it sooner rather than later.”

Early signs good for cars being able to follow

One of the main targets of the new technical regulations was to create a generation of cars that could follow more closely through corners, which in turn should improve the chances of launching an overtake.

And across two days of testing, a number of drivers have put themselves in a position to put the new rules to the test in this regard, including Sainz, who spent several laps chasing world champion Max Verstappen and then a flurry of tours behind the Alpine of Fernando Alonso.

So what was his verdict? “I can tell you I already felt some differences,” Sainz told me. “It’s pretty obvious already – and I’m relatively positive about it.”

Verstappen was optimistic, too. “I have been following a few cars,” he said. “It seems a little bit easier to stay behind at least you don’t have these weird corners where you suddenly have understeer or a mass of oversteer.

“I don’t expect it to be fully gone where you can follow the rear diffuser, at least not at the speeds we are still doing in F1, but it all seems a bit more under control. I find with the tyres as well, they are quite a bit bigger so visibility is quite different. At a track like this it is less of a problem, when we go to street circuits, it is going to be a bit more challenging.”

Zhou hits the ground running on first day with Alfa Romeo

Zhou Guanyu said he was “proud” as he prepared top step into the Alfa Romeo C42 for the first time on Thursday afternoon, and he should be proud of the job he did when he headed out, F1’s first Chinese race driver delivering an error-free performance – and clocking up valuable mileage.

This hasn’t been the ideal start for Alfa Romeo, who headed into the afternoon with just 53 laps to show for 1.5 days of running in Barcelona. But Zhou made up for lost time with 71 laps, giving the team crucial data to analyse overnight, as well as getting on top of more gremlins that have frustrated them so far in Barcelona.

It remains to be seen how strong Zhou – who finished third in last year’s F2 championship – will be when the season gets under way, but the Chinese driver gave himself a good chance of starting on the front foot.

“After waiting such a long time this winter, to finally get the first drive is obviously nice,” he said. “I seemed to be able to adapt reasonably okay and there’s still a bit [to come] from my side.” When asked what he needs to work on, he said: “I think a little bit of driving and just to be trusting a little bit more the car. Because it’s the first time, I don’t want to push too much – you don’t want to do mistakes.”

He’ll have half a day more in the car on Friday – and then more track time in Bahrain at the Official Pre-Season Test. It’s not very much, which is why a Grand Prix distance-worth of running on Thursday is so significant.