PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES
As has become the norm, the early part of the session was where most of the fastest lap times came. Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, and Max Verstappen each topped the times at points, but nobody was able to beat the 1:18.634 Raikkonen was able to set.
The first red flag of the day came an hour and a half into the first session, when Romain Grosjean ran into the gravel at turn 5. It wouldn’t be the last time the Haas driver ran into trouble. He stopped on the back straight just before the lunch break, bringing out the red flag again.
Unsurprisingly, the Honda powered McLaren fell into trouble again. Fernando Alonso had completed less than 20 laps when he stopped on track due to the same electrical issue that had caused problems for Stoffel Vandoorne yesterday, even though the team had changed parts of the power unit and chassis overnight. Alonso did manage to get back out before the end of the session, only to stop almost immediately.
The team seemed to clear up the problem by the afternoon, as Alonso was able to get back out. He managed to complete 43 laps before the end of the day.
McLaren weren’t the only driver to have limited morning running. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull hadn’t been out much after his pitch for the top spot early in the session. That was because Red Bull were fixing a turbo issue on the car, but the teenager was still able to get out in the afternoon. By that point, though, he’d already set the second fastest time of the day and Red Bull’s fastest time of the test.
Anybody watching the timing screens would have had a less exciting afternoon, as many of the teams began race simulations again, but the simulations were disturbed by red flags. None from McLaren this time though.
Raikkonen was the first to bring out the red flag in the afternoon. The Ferrari was on a race simulation when it suffered a problem. Raikkonen moved onto the unused part of the circuit to try and return to the pits, only to lock the rear wheels and spin at the unused chicane.
Carlos Sainz was the culprit for the sixth and final red flag of the day as he stopped on the start finish straight after setting the third fastest time earlier in the day.
Mercedes had a quiet day, with their two drivers finishing fourth and fifth by the end of the day with just over 100 laps between them, but the German team still heads to Australia favourites.
TIMES:
1. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:18.634 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 110 Laps
2. Max Verstappen - 1:19.438 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / 70 Laps
3. Carlos Sainz - 1:19.837 / Toro Rosso-Renault / 131 Laps
4. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:19.845 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
5. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:19.850 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
6. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - 1:19.885 / Renault-Renault / 45 Laps
7. Sergio Perez - 1:20.116 / Force India-Mercedes / 138 Laps
8. Jolyon Palmer (PM) – 1:20.205 / Renault-Renault / 43 Laps
9. Lance Stroll - 1:20.335 / Williams-Mercedes / 132 Laps
10. Romain Grosjean - 1:21.110 / Haas-Ferrari / 76 Laps
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:21.389 / McLaren-Honda / 43 Laps
12. Marcus Ericsson (AM) - 1:21.670 / Sauber-Ferrari / 59 Laps
13. Pascal Wehrlein (PM) - 1:23.527 / Sauber-Ferrari / 42 Laps
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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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