2022 Formula 1 Barcelona February testing
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F1 Barcelona pre-season test - Day 2
Minute by minute updates on the second day of the 2022 Barcelona F1 pre-season test
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The fastest lap fight has pretty much been contested by only McLaren and Ferrari so far this test - they do know they don't get the bonus point for it at the end of this week, right?
Closing in on the final hour of today's track action and it is Ferrari that holds the headline as it stands. Will we see a late McLaren run to steal the show again? Or will another team fancy a shot at the spotlight?
Given all 10 cars have been fully on show for the past couple of days, it is also a good time to ask which one is the prettiest? My pick is the Ferrari, a retro-style livery on a very modern-looking F1 car. A lovely combination.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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Zhou has climbed up to P11 on the overall times with a 1m22.239s using the C3s. A solid effort for the F1 rookie.
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Gasly closes to within almost two-tenths of leader Leclerc's time with a 1m20.030s to go P2 overall. Almost, Pierre.
Gasly has also moved on to the C4, ie softer, tyres which will have helped in his fast lap time pursuit. Given he had completed the majority of his 124 laps on the C2s or C3s today, he probably deserved to be let off the leash.
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Gasly pits from his C4 tyre run having not improved on his following laps after that 1m20.030s. Ricciardo is also out on the C4s and puts in a 1m20.288s to close the gap on the top two.
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Russell is the latest improver as he gets up to P4 overall with a 1m20.537s.
Gasly, back out on the C4s again, is setting fastest sector times...
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...but the AlphaTauri driver doesn't go top. His 1m19.918s puts him within a tenth of Leclerc. It looked like he was held up through the final sector behind Perez in the Red Bull, given he lost all his time through the final corners.
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Ocon, who had been last on the times having focused on long runs, goes up to P12 with a 1m22.164s on the C3s. That pushes Hamilton to the bottom of the pile, which isn't something that's been said much.
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Leclerc improves to further cement his top spot with a 1m19.689s. That's still a little over a tenth off the best time from yesterday by Norris, but he won't mind too much.
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Given the struggles Alfa Romeo had yesterday and this morning, it has been a really impressive afternoon for Zhou. He's already got 63 laps on the board and is P8 with a 1m21.885s.
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Lap time improvements everywhere you look in the final hour. Perez puts in a 1m21.430s to go P7 overall.
It is worth stating these lap times aren't too surprising given favourable conditions, some teams switching to softer compounds and completing long run programmes. It just keeps us on our toes until the finish.
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Here's a perfect demonstration of the purpoise effect that has become the buzzword at this test.
The promise of the late quick laps appears to have jinxed it. Still plenty of action on track including Leclerc, Gasly, Vettel and Sainz but nobody is pushing to the limits just yet.
Leclerc and Gasly came out nose-to-tail for an entire outlap before the Ferrari driver dived into the pits for pitstop practice and duly ruined a potential race for the final five minutes. Boo.
Into the final couple of minutes and there doesn't appear to be anyone out for a glory run. So Charles Leclerc, you are the Day 2 timesheet-topper.
Checkered flag
That's the second day in Barcelona done - the chequered flag is out.
There is a late improver - it is Mazepin who moves up to P8 with a 1m21.512s. Not headline grabbing but enough to cause a late end-of-day report tweak.
Practice start o'clock! Perez, Ocon, Gasly, Mazepin, Leclerc, Vettel and Russell all take turns on the grid to provide a few booming roars to end the fun.
Gasly may have missed out on the top time but he takes the honour of most laps by an individual driver for today with 147, ahead of Ricciardo (126) and Ocon (125). They'll all sleep well tonight.
What did we learn today? Well in a snapshot Ferrari, again, look impressive both on mileage and lap times. The same can be said for McLaren and AlphaTauri, and while the times don't necessarily show it Mercedes can be content too.
It was a solid recovery by Perez for Red Bull after a gearbox issue this morning lost them a sizeable chunk of track time, with Haas also facing a similar challenge after a damaged fuel pump halted Mazepin's afternoon plan.
Breaking news
Leclerc ends day two of F1 Barcelona test fastest
Here's the full round-up on today's action: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/2022-f1-barcelona-test-day-2-report/8463637/
With that, we'll call it a night for this live text commentary on Day 2 of the Barcelona test. It has been a pleasure and what's even better is there is another full day tomorrow!
Checkered flag
We'll be back bright and early tomorrow so be sure to join us again just before 8am GMT when the track action starts. Have a lovely evening!
By: Haydn Cobb
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