F1 2022 testing LIVE: Latest results and lap times from Barcelona with Charles Leclerc fastest for Ferrari

Follow live F1 updates and news from Barcelona as Formula 1 pre-season testing continues at the Circuit de Catalunya. The first shakedown of 2022 began yesterday with Lando Norris setting the fastest time in the new McLaren MCL36, with the Woking-based squad making a real statement of intent on the soft tyres.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, drove the most laps of any individual driver at 147, while Ferrari put in the most in the most laps of any team at 153. Charles Leclerc was fastest in yesterday’s morning session as the Scuderia showed impressive pace with their radical new car design, fuelling hopes that they can challenge for this year’s championship. Haas and Alfa Romeo struggled with technical issues and completed a meagre 43 and 32 tours of the track respectively. Today’s session is not being broadcast in the UK or anywhere else but we’ll bringing you all the most important insight here.

Speaking at his press conference yesterday, Hamilton pushed for both more diversity and neutrality among the stewards: “I want to see more women in the stewards’ room, last year [we had] maybe one or two,” Hamilton said. “It would be awesome to have a male and female as the two race directors. We need to make sure we’ve got non-biased stewards. Race drivers, some are very, very good friends with certain individuals, some travel with some individuals, take a more keen liking to some. I think [F1 needs] people who have no biases, and are super central when it comes to making decisions.”

Follow all the latest news, lap times and results from Barcelona below.

F1 testing news, times and results

• F1 pre-season testing underway in Barcelona

• Lewis Hamilton showing promising signs in new-look Mercedes

• Ferrari and McLaren continue to impress in early running

• Teams running tests on new machinery ahead of new season

• Max Verstappen defends Michael Masi after sacking

Ferrari not getting carried away by strong early form

17:37 , Karl Matchett

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto says they are “outsiders” this year, claiming he won’t pay too much attention to form in pre-season.

Between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Ferrari racked up the most laps on the first day - 153 - but Binotto isn’t concerned by that and is more focused on the team picking up data to help them throughout the next few weeks and the start of the season proper.

“I think it’s very early days,. It’s always great to have good consistency when running because it’s time to learn these new cars,” he said in a press conference.

“When you’re doing a lot of laps, you are certainly collecting data. So far I’m pleased by the fact that yesterday we did many laps, and this morning too, which is important. Regarding the pace, it’s very early to judge. What I can see is that we are all very close, which was one of the objectives of the new regulations.”

Verstappen defends Masi after sacking

17:25 , Lawrence Ostlere

Max Verstappen has accused Formula One’s rulers of throwing Michael Masi under the bus after he was sacked as the sport’s race director.

Verstappen, who benefitted from Masi’s incorrect handling of a late safety car period in Abu Dhabi to beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 world championship, also called the Australian’s dismissal “unacceptable” and “incredible”.

Under mounting pressure, Masi was formally removed from his post by the FIA last week. He will be replaced by two new race directors, Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. They will be supported by the 73-year-old Herbie Blash in a restructure of how the sport is refereed.

The sport will no longer televise the in-race conversations between the teams and the FIA. Both Mercedes and Red Bull lobbied Masi in the closing moments of the Abu Dhabi race.

Verstappen, speaking at length for the first time since Masi was fired, said: “For me, it is really unfair what happened to Michael because he has been thrown under the bus.

“Can you imagine a referee in whatever sport has a coach screaming in his ear all the time, yelling ‘yellow card, red card, no foul’? It is impossible to make a decision.

“The fact that F1 already allowed that whilst he was making decisions is wrong. It needed Michael making the decisions on his own. And for those who did sack him to allow that in the first place is unacceptable. I found it really incredible.”

Chequered flag - day two in Barcelona is over

17:21 , Karl Matchett

Mazepin creeps up to eighth late on for Haas, with Leclerc actually improving slightly too to widen the gap between himself and Gasly.

Tomorrow they’ll do it all over again, weather permitting, and then it’s all about two weeks of development to get rid of any issues and improve things which are already going well.

There might be a fair bit for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to sort, judging by his timings, but perhaps this was more about testing and acclimatisation rather than all-out time trials today.

Lap times with 20 minutes to go

16:41 , Lawrence Ostlere

The latest times as day two testing nears a close:

1. Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m19.689s, C3, 63 laps

2. Gasly (AlphaTauri) 1m19.918s, C4, 134 laps

3. Ricciardo (McLaren) 1m20.288s, C4, 121 laps

4. Russell (Mercedes)1m20.537s, C3, 60 laps

5. Sainz (Ferrari) 1m20.546s, C3, 71 laps

6. Vettel (Aston Martin) 1m20.784s, C3, 64 laps

7. Albon (Williams) 1m21.531s, C3, 47 laps

8. Zhou (Alfa Romeo) 1m21.885s, C3, 64 laps

9. Latifi (Williams) 1m21.894s, C3, 61 laps

10. Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m21.920s, C2, 55 laps

11. Schumacher (Haas) 1m21.949s, C3, 66 laps

12. Mazepin (Haas) 1m22.046s, C3, 37 laps

13. Ocon (Alpine) 1m22.164s, C3, 119 laps

14. Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 1m22.288s, C3, 21 laps

15. Perez (Red Bull) 1m22.412s, C2, 63 laps

16. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m22.562s, C2, 40 laps

Verstappen criticises Masi’s sacking

16:32 , Lawrence Ostlere

Max Verstappen on Michael Masi’s sacking by F1: “Can you imagine a referee in whatever sport has a coach screaming in his ear all the time, yelling ‘yellow card, red card, no foul’? It is impossible to make a decision. The fact that F1 already allowed that whilst he was making decisions is wrong.”

Full story:

Max Verstappen says Michael Masi was ‘thrown under the bus’ by FIA

Day two in Barcelona

16:31 , Lawrence Ostlere

Some of the best images from the second day of testing at Circuit de Catalunya:

Gasly overtakes Ricciardo in lap time standings

16:19 , Lawrence Ostlere

A couple of small changes in the lap time standings, as Piere Gasly jumps above Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren and into second among the quickest laps today, behind on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

16:10 , Dan Austin

Sebastian Vettel will boycott the Russian Grand Prix later this year in the wake of the escalating crisis in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin confirmed the start of a military operation in Ukraine early on Thursday morning as the situation in the region continues to worsen. Formula 1 have confirmed they are “closely watching” the situation but stopped short of calling off or moving the race, set for 25 September in Sochi.

“It’s horrible to see what is happening,” he said. “My own opinion is I should not go. I will not go. I think it’s wrong to race in the country. I’m sorry for the people you know, innocent people that are losing their lives that are getting killed for stupid reasons and a very, very strange and mad leadership,” he added.

You can read the full story here:

‘My decision is already made’: Sebastian Vettel to boycott Russian Grand Prix

Laptime standings with an hour to go

16:01 , Dan Austin

Just over one hour remains on day two of testing in Barcelona, and Daniel Ricciardo still leads the timesheets in his McLaren MCL36.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly follow him in second and third, will all three drivers setting their times on the C3 Pirelli tyres.

The full list of runners is below:

1) Leclerc — Ferrari — 1m19.804s, C2, 38 laps

2) Ricciardo — McLaren— 1m20.355s, C3, 101 laps

3) Gasly — Alpha Tauri — 1m20.542s, C3, 107 laps

4) Sainz — Ferrari — 1m20.546s, C3, 71 laps

5) Vettel — Aston Martin — 1m20.784s, C3, 52 laps

6) Albon — Williams — 1m21.531s, C3, 47 laps

7) Russell — Mercedes —1m21.734s, C2, 38 laps

8) Latifi — Williams — 1m21.894s, C3, 46 laps

9) Stroll — Aston Martin — 1m21.920s, C2, 55 laps

10) Schumacher — Haas — 1m21.949s, C3, 66 laps

11) Bottas — Alfa Romeo — 1m22.288s, C3, 21 laps

12) Perez — Red Bull — 1m22.412s, C2, 43 laps

13) Mazepin — Haas — 1m22.429s, C3, 24 laps

14) Hamilton — Mercedes — 1m22.562s, C2, 40 laps

15) Ocon — Alpine — 1m23.280s, C2, 112 laps

16) Zhou — Alfa Romeo — 1m23.808s, C2, 46 laps

Leclerc goes fastest for Ferrari

15:54 , Dan Austin

After of four hours at the top of the standings, Daniel Ricciardo has finally been replaced as leader, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc going fastest of all.

The Monegasque has dipped below the one-minute-twenties the fastest cars had set up until now, using the C3 tyres to put in a 1:18:804.

There’s just over an hour left to go in this session.

More teams reach 100 lap milestone

15:45 , Dan Austin

A few more teams have managed to reach the 100 lap milestone which Alpine were first to conquer a little earlier.

McLaren, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Alpha Tauri have all passed the threshold.

Daniel Ricciardo still tops the timesheets with the 1:20:355 he set in the morning session on the C3 tyres.

Perez back on track for Red Bull

15:40 , Dan Austin

Sergio Perez is finally back out on track in Barcelona after his RB18 spent over four hours in the garage.

The new Red Bull car stopped on track in sector three in the morning session, bringing out the red flag, due to a gearbox issue that saw the car leaking fluid from its rear.

Perez has completed 41 laps so far and will hope to be able to put in as many as possible between now and the 5pm chequered flag as he looks to understand his new car as much as possible.

Zhou driving in first session of F1 career

15:31 , Dan Austin

Guanyu Zhou is out on track in the Alfa Romeo C52 as he takes part in the first test session of his Formula 1 career.

The 22-year-old is becoming the first full-time Chinese driver in the history of F1 after being promoted from F2 in place of Antonio Giovinazzi with the Swiss team, and has completed a strong 46 laps in Barcelona so far.

That is a much better figure than Valtteri Bottas this morning, who could only complete 21 laps, after the team was besieged by technical issues on the opening day of testing on Wednesday.

Red Bull still missing from afternoon session

15:22 , Dan Austin

Sergio Perez still hasn’t reappeared on track after a gearbox issue caused him to stop during this morning’s session at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The Mexican’s car was leaking fluid from the rear when it was hauled back to the pits, and the RB18 is still in the team’s garage.

Perez only managed 38 laps of running this morning and the loss of time will compromise both his understanding of the car and also the amount of data Red Bull are able to collect.

Session back underway as Alpine hit 100

15:13 , Dan Austin

The afternoon session is back underway and Alpine have become the first team to hit 100 laps of running on Thursday.

The French-owned squad have a brand new engine for 2022 and CEO Laurent Rossi said they have prioritised performance over reliability, but there have been no concerns so far.

Ocon is during the car for both stints today, and is currently 14th of 16 drivers on the laptime leaderboard.

Closer look at Mercedes’ new W13

15:04 , Dan Austin

Some nifty photography at the circuit in Barcelona is allowing us a closer look at Mercedes’ new W13 challenger for the 2022 season.

The car features wide inlets at the front of the sidepods, but doesn’t include the strip of vents which the likes of the Ferrari and Aston Martin are making use of. The car seems to have been suffering from porpoising, the term for significant rises and falls of the ride height at top speed, more often than some other teams’ machinery.

George Russell is piloting the car this afternoon after Lewis Hamilton drove 40 laps this morning.

Haas reveals cause of Mazepin problem

14:55 , Dan Austin

Haas has revealed the cause of the problem with caused Nikita Mazepin to stop on track a little earlier, bringing out the second red flag of the day’s running Barcelona.

The team says a fuel pump issue on its VF22 car was to blame.

The American-owned squad managed to complete an impressive 66 laps with Mick Schumacher behind the wheel in the morning session, but Mazepin only drove nine laps before being forced to stop.

Leclerc saddened by Ukraine situation

14:46 , Dan Austin

Charles Leclerc took part in the same press conference as Alonso and also offered a short comment on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying that he was saddened by the situation.

“[The Grand Prix Drivers Association, the F1 drivers’ union] will have to speak about it,” the Monegasque driver explained. “But to not go too much into details because to be honest I don’t have all the information about what’s happening. It’s very sad to see that, especially in 2022. Then we’ll take a decision, I think Formula 1 will probably take a decision and have more info than we do. I can’t express myself any more than that, I honestly don’t have all the information about it.”

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali will chair a meeting of all ten team bosses this evening after the conclusion of the afternoon test session in Barcelona.

Alonso says F1 will take decision about Russia, not drivers

14:37 , Dan Austin

Sebastian Vettel said earlier this afternoon that he will refuse to race in Russia if Formula 1 does not cancel the Grand Prix scheduled to take place there in September, after Russia invaded Ukraine overnight.

Fernando Alonso also spoke about the situation in the lunchtime press conference but said he prefers to leave the decision for Formula 1 bosses.

“I think it’s going to be Formula 1’s decision eventually,” said the Spaniard. “I think that we drivers we have our opinion and I’m sure it is the same one as everyone. [But] We don’t have the power to decide. Things like that we can make our own decision for sure but eventually I think that Formula 1 will do the best.”

Red flag is out again in Barcelona

14:28 , Dan Austin

The red flag is out for the second time today in Barcelona, and the session has been paused.

All cars are returning to the pits after Haas’ Nikita Mazepin stopped on the track in sector two.

Three teams closing in on 100 lap marker

14:25 , Dan Austin

Three Formula 1 teams are close to hitting the 100 lap mark on the second day of testing in Barcelona.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have been driving the Alpha Tauri and Alpine respectively since the morning session began at 8am, and the former has clocked up 91 tours of the circuit, while the latter follows closely behind on 89.

Ferrari, meanwhile, have swapped out Carlos Sainz in favour of Charles Leclerc, and those two have completed 88 laps so far between them.

F1 will undertake crisis meeting over Russian GP

14:14 , Dan Austin

A little more now on what Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto discussed in relation to the Russian Grand Prix earlier.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali will chair a meeting involving all ten team bosses at the circuit in Barcelona following the conclusion of the afternoon session at today’s test.

Earlier this morning the option to purchase tickets for the Russian GP, scheduled for September as it stands, was removed from F1’s website and replace by possible purchases for a Turkish Grand prix in its place. F1 said the change was part of a website development error, but the probability of the race in Sochi being cancelled must now be considered extremely high.

Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of the morning.

Haas will need to react to Russian invasion of Ukraine

14:05 , Dan Austin

The Haas Formula 1 team is going to have to react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in some form.

The American-owned team runs in a red, blue, and white Russian flag livery due to the title sponsorship agreement it has with Russian fertiliser company Ural Kali. The firm’s oligarch owner Dmitry Mazepin finances the team so that his son Nikita can drive one of its cars. He is out on track in Barcelona right now.

Anti-Russian sentiment is no doubt going to increase exponentially around the world after the violent assault Vladimir Putin has launched on Ukraine, and an F1 car essentially draped in a great big Russian flag while a massive military conflict is ongoing is not going to go down well.

Barcelona striker Depay visits F1 testing

13:53 , Dan Austin

FC Barcelona striker Memphis Depay is attending the F1 test at the Circuit de Catalunya today, and seems to be a guest of the Alpha Tauri team.

The Netherlands international has been taking photos with drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.

Gasly was third fastest in the morning session, and is back out on track again this afternoon.

Verstappen says Masi was “thrown under the bus” by FIA

13:44 , Dan Austin

Max Verstappen says former F1 race director Michael Masi was thrown under the bus by the FIA.

The Australian was removed from his role last week after his unprecedented interpretation of safety car rules in Abu Dhabi essentially gifted Verstappen the title over Lewis Hamilton.

“I think it’s not correct,” Verstappen said. “For me, it’s very unfair what happened to Michael because he’s really been thrown under the bus.

“Of course people talk a lot about what was decided in Abu Dhabi, but can you imagine the referee in whatever sport having the coach or equivalent screaming in his ear all the time: ‘yellow card’, ‘red card’, ‘no decision’, ‘no foul’? It’s impossible to make a decision.

“I feel really sorry for Michael because I think he was a really capable and good race director,” the Dutchman added. “I have nothing against the new race directors because I think they are also very capable and very good race directors, but personally for Michael, I felt really sad and I sent him a text as well. So not the right decision.”

FIA reject Lewis Hamilton’s criticism of ‘biased’ stewards

13:35 , Dan Austin

Lewis Hamilton’s accusations of possible bias among race stewards has provoked a quick response from the FIA.

The Mercedes man spoke on Wednesday about a lack of diversity in the stewards’ room, calling for more female representation among those in the hotseats, adding that it “would be awesome to have a male and female as the two race directors.”

However, he also added his claim that some individuals currently in position failed to always take an objective view on situations, allowing their personal feelings for drivers to get in the way of applying regulations.

“We need to make sure we’ve got non-biased stewards,” he said. “Race drivers, some are very, very good friends with certain individuals, some travel with some individuals, take a more keen liking to some.”

But the FIA rebutted his claims and backed the “independent” approach taken by all officials who partake on race days.

Full report:

FIA reject Lewis Hamilton’s criticism of ‘biased’ stewards

Binotto reveals F1 will meet to discuss Russia

13:28 , Dan Austin

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has also been discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and says F1 chiefs will hold a meeting to consider the situation and the staging of the Russian Grand Prix this evening.

“It’s an awful situation,” Binotto said. Very sad. All we can do is wait and see. From now until the race in September, there is time. My wish is for everything to stop very soon. We will have a meeting tonight to understand and manage the situation.”

Vettel and Gasly out on track

13:19 , Dan Austin

In amongst all of the discussion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by drivers and team principals, the test is still going on, but it has been a quiet start to the second portion of today’s session.

Sebastian Vettel is first out on track in the Aston Martin, having taken over from Lance Stroll who drove the AMR22 this morning, and Pierre Gasly has joined him on circuit in the Alpha Tauri AT03.

Gasly is running the entire day for Italian outfit after Yuki Tsunoda did the same yesterday.

Drivers call for Russian Grand Prix to be cancelled

13:11 , Dan Austin

Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel have called for the 2022 Russian Grand Prix to be cancelled.

Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of this morning across land, air and sea, as Vladimir Putin’s began the violent assault he has been threatening for months.

F1 released a statement earlier today saying it was monitoring events, and Verstappen and Vettel are determined a race should not place in Sochi.

“Obviously I woke up again to this morning’s news and I was shocked,” Vettel said. “I think it’s horrible to see what is happening and obviously if you look at the calendar we have a race scheduled in Russia. For myself, my opinion is I should not go — I will not go. I think it’s wrong to race in the country. I’m sorry for the innocent people that are losing their lives, that are getting killed for stupid reasons and a very, very strange and mad leadership.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, said: “When a country is at war it is not right to the race there.”

Afternoon session underway in Barcelona

13:02 , Dan Austin

The second part of day of pre-season testing is underway in Barcelona.

All ten teams will be running this afternoon as they look to gather more data about their new machinery for the 2022 season, with Formula 1 entering a completely new era of car design.

McLaren were fastest in this morning’s session, and topped the timesheets yesterday too. Will they impress again here?

Hamilton supports F1’s decision to stop drivers collectively taking a knee

12:58 , Dan Austin

Lewis Hamilton supports Formula 1‘s decision to scrap drivers all taking the knee together before races.

The pre-race ‘We Race As One’ moment was originally brought in for start of the 2020 season and saw drivers given the opportunity to take a knee on the grid to protest against racism and promote social justice.

“I’ve not put a huge amount of thought to it but, of course, I do think what Stefano said makes sense, that it is about action now, and so that’s something that I look forward to seeing over a period of time,” he said while in Barcelona for pre-season testing.

“Things like, for example, I had a great call last year with all the teams about getting included in this charter, so that every team is trying to push for diversity.”

You can read the full story here:

Lewis Hamilton supports F1’s decision to stop drivers collectively taking a knee

Details of runners for Barcelona F1 test afternoon session

12:49 , Dan Austin

The second test run of the day begins at 1pm, and will run until 5pm.

The majority of teams are switching drivers for the second portion of the day but a few will be sticking with the same for a full eight hours’ worth of driving. Below is the full list of drivers who will take to the circuit from 1pm onwards.

Alfa Romeo — Guanyu Zhou

Alpha Tauri — Pierre Gasly

Alpine — Esteban Ocon

Aston Martin — Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari — Charles Leclerc

Haas — Nikita Mazepin

McLaren — Daniel Ricciardo

Mercedes — George Russell

Red Bull — Sergio Perez

Williams — Nicholas Latifi

Haas pull Steiner from press conference

12:40 , Dan Austin

Haas have withdrawn team principal Gunther Steiner from the end of day press conference in Barcelona.

The team runs a Russian-themed livery thanks to a title sponsorship deal with the Russian fertiliser company Ural Kali, owned by oligarch Dimitry Mazepin. His son, Nikita, is a driver for the team.

Haas seemingly wants to avoid any difficult questions about its relationship with the Russians, after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine which began this morning.

Six teams manage over 50 laps

12:31 , Dan Austin

Six of the ten teams running this morning managed to complete over 50 laps, and no will doubt be pleased with the amount of data they have managed to take from the session.

Haas were the big improvers with Mick Schumacher managing 66 laps, with team having only put in a total of 42 in yesterday’s two runs. McLaren, Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin and Alpine also put in over 50 laps, with Ferrari reaching an impressive 71 tours of the circuit.

Alfa Romeo once again were the least frequent runners, completing only 21 laps. That will be a concern for team principal Frederic Vasseur.

Ricciardo ends session second in standings

12:22 , Dan Austin

Shortly before the end of the session, Daniel Ricciardo managed to move up to first in the standings.

The Australian endured a tough campaign with McLaren and was consistently out-paced by younger team-mate Lando Norris, but did manage a morale-boosting victory at Monza, the team’s first win in nine years.

He will be hoping for a much improved campaign this time around, and the team’s early pace is promising. His 1:20:948 time was set on the C3 medium tyres.

Perez stoppage caused by gearbox issue

12:13 , Dan Austin

Sergio Perez’s stoppage at the Circuit de Catalunya seems to have been caused by a gearbox issue.

The Mexican’s RB18 ground to a halt at Turn 13 and was leaking fluid from the rear as it was brought back into the pits. Red Bull covered the car in a tarpaulin as it was pulled through the pitlane so that rivals were not able to get a clear look at its aerodynamic package or take any photographs.

Team principal Christian Horner has been de-briefing with Perez in the garage.

Ricciardo tops timesheets at end of morning session in Barcelona

12:04 , Dan Austin

The morning test session in Barcelona is over, and McLaren top the timesheets just like they did yesterday, with Daniel Ricciardo leading the way in the team’s new MCL 36.

He is followed bar Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari, with Pierre Gasly in third for Alpha Tauri. Red Bull and Mercedes were lower down the order, and will be disappointed not to have run a few more laps.

1) Ricciardo — McLaren — 1m20.355s, C3, 64 laps

2) Sainz — Ferrari — 1m20.546s, C3, 71 laps

3) Gasly — AlphaTauri — 1m20.764s, C3, 60 laps

4) Albon — Williams — 1m21.531s, C3, 47 laps

5) Stroll — Aston Martin — 1m21.920s, C2, 55 laps

6) Schumacher — Haas — 1m21.949s, C3, 65 laps

7) Bottas — Alfa Romeo — 1m22.288s, C3, 21 laps

8) Perez — Red Bull — 1m22.412s, C2, 38 laps

9) Hamilton — Mercedes — 1m22.562s, C2, 40 laps

10) Ocon — Alpine — 1m23.280s, C2, 66 laps

Session back underway in Barcelona

11:50 , Dan Austin

The red flag period is over and the session is back underway in Barcelona.

We have ten minutes before the morning stint will come to an end, with an hour’s break preceding the afternoon running.

The likes of Ricciardo, Stroll, Schumacher and Ocon are all out on track.

Stoppage rather than crash for Perez

11:43 , Dan Austin

The red flag has been caused not by a crash for Sergio Perez, but by his RB18 stopping dead in sector three.

The Red Bull seems to have suffered some sort of reliability issue, and the team has sent a set out of mechanics out to Turn 13 in order to recover it.

This is the first on-track durability problem we’ve seen since the pre-season test started yesterday.

Gasly and Perez racing down pit straight

11:34 , Dan Austin

With only ten cars on track during testing it is very rare indeed that cars are bunched up together, but that was the case just before the red flag with Pierre Gasly right behind Sergio Perez on the pit straight.

The Frenchman caught up to the Mexican and slid down the inside into Turn 1.

That could possibly have been a planned move by Alpha Tauri and Red Bull, both owned by the Austrian energy drinks brand, in order to test how easy it is for cars to follow one another in this new era of car design.

Red flag in Barcelona!

11:25 , Dan Austin

The red flag is out in Barcelona and this morning’s test is brought to a halt.

Sergio Perez in the Red Bull is the cause, the Mexican has stopped at the exit of Turn 13.

Red flags are usually very common in pre-season testing but this is the first of the Barcelona running so far.

Albon returns to track after Williams issue

11:18 , Dan Austin

Alex Albon is back out on track in Barcelona after missing almost two hours of the morning session.

The Grove-based squad was suffering from a pump issue on its FW44 car, preventing it from continuing after its early runs. The team has managed 29 laps of the circuit so far.

25-year-old Albon will hoping to run for as long as possible know to get his eye in with the new car, especially after missing the 2021 campaign having been demoted to test and reserve driver by Red Bull.

F1 monitoring situations as Russia invades Ukraine

11:09 , Dan Austin

Formula 1 has released a statement about the Russian Grand Prix, currently scheduled for September, after Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Vladimir Putin ordered troops to cross the border after he chose to recognise the rebel strongholds of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent republics. Russian military is now advancing on cities including Kharkiv and Mariuspol, and citizens are fleeing the capital Kyiv.

The F1 statement reads: "Formula 1 is closely watching the very fluid developments like many others and at this time has no further comment on the race scheduled for September. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely."

Drivers start hitting 50 lap marker

11:00 , Dan Austin

More cars are now back on track and a number of drivers have begun passing the 50 lap mark.

Daniel Ricciardo is over threshold in the McLaren MCL36, as is Carlos Sainz in Ferrari’s new F1-&5. Mick Schumacher has managed the same feat in the Haas, meanwhile, meaning they have already completed eight more laps in three hours of today’s session than they did in the entirety of yesterday’s running.

Team principal Gunther Steiner will be very pleased, no doubt.

Hamilton only man out on track

10:49 , Dan Austin

Lewis Hamilton is currently the only driver out on track in Barcelona as the session enters a bit of a lull.

Each portion of the test might be four hours long but cars are not running constantly. They regularly re-enter the pits to change tyres, re-fuel, have measuring devices fitted and for drivers to give feedback and take rest breaks.

Carlos Sainz still tops the timesheets for Ferrari.

Cars suffering from porpoising in Barcelona

10:38 , Dan Austin

Unforeseen issues always arise in F1 pre-season testing, and one that the majority of teams have been facing in Barcelona yesterday and this morning is porpoising.

Porpoising is the term used to describe cars appearing to bounce up and down as they reach their highest speed on straights, and is a consequence of F1’s switch to ground effect designs for 2022. Ground effect means the cars use their floors to generate downforce, and as becomes trapped underneath the car, its ride height can rise and fall wildly.

Alfa Romeo struggled significantly with the issue on Wednesday, while reports suggest the Mercedes in particular is having problems with it today.

Hamilton out on track for Mercedes in Barcelona

10:29 , Dan Austin

Lewis Hamilton has been out on track in the new W13 for Mercedes this morning.

The seven-time world champion’s participation was originally in doubt for 2022, after he stepped away from the public eye and was described as “disillusioned” by team principal Toto Wolff.

The 37-year-old is aiming for a record-breaking eighth title this season, so the W13 will have to be quick...

Haas showing improved reliability

10:20 , Dan Austin

One interesting development so far this morning is that Haas have shown significantly improved reliability.

The American-owned outfit have been running Mick Schumacher in the VF22 so far in Barcelona and the German driver has completed 31 laps of the track, just 11 shy of the 42 the team managed in the entirety of Wednesday’s running.

A reassuring step forward.

Cars slower at Barcelona so far after regulation change

10:11 , Dan Austin

The Circuit de Catalunya is not just used for testing in Formula 1, of course. This is the home of the Spanish Grand Prix, and has been ever-present on the calendar since 1991.

The track comes in for annual criticism, though, owing to the lack of of overtaking opportunities it allows drivers. The circuit underwent renovations for the 2021 which sought to rectify things, and there was a small improvement.

Lando Norris topped the testing timesheets with a 1:19:568, three seconds slower than the pole time set by Lewis Hamilton here last season. You can check out the lap record around this track below:

What is the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya lap record?

Sainz fastest at halfway stage of morning test session

10:01 , Dan Austin

We’re now halfway through this morning’s four hour test session and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz still leads the way with an impressive time set on the medium C3 tyres.

Pierre Gasly is second in the Alpha Tauri, with Alex Albon in third in the Williams. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez’s times have been set on the hard C2 tyres.

1) Sainz — Ferrari — 1m20.890s, C3, 34 laps

2) Gasly — AlphaTauri — 1m21.466s, C3, 30 laps

3) Albon — Williams — 1m21.657s, C3, 25 laps

4) Ricciardo — McLaren — 1m21.923s, C2, 34 laps

5) Hamilton — Mercedes — 1m22.562s, C2, 16 laps

6) Stroll — Aston Martin — 1m22.620s, C2, 27 laps

7) Bottas — Alfa Romeo —1m22.858s, C3, 12 laps

8) Ocon — Alpine — 1m23.280s, C2, 31 laps

9) Perez — Red Bull — 1m23.320s, C2, 19 laps

10) Schumacher — Haas — 1m23.499s, C2, 29 laps

Ocon running full day for Alpine

09:53 , Dan Austin

Most teams split each day’s running between their two drivers at pre-season testing, but Alpine are one a few who have instead elected to give their men a full day’s running each.

Fernando Alonso ran the morning and afternoon sessions on Wednesday, whi means today it is Esteban Ocon’s turn to spend eight hours at the wheel of the new A522.

The team has a new blue and pink livery for the 2022 campaign courtesy of a huge sponsorship deal with Austrian water technology firm BWT, which previously sponsored Racing Point.

Alfa Romeo still running test livery

09:44 , Dan Austin

Alfa Romeo may have been last to take to the circuit this morning but Valtteri Bottas is indeed out on track and setting some laptimes for his new team.

The Finn will partner Guanyu Zhou behind the wheel of the C52 this season, but the Swiss outfit has still not officially launched its new car. That means they are running a camouflage livery which is designed to hide aerodynamic developments the teams had made with the car.

Zhou, China’s first full-time F1 driver, will drive the C52 in the afternoon session.

Gasly using rake for Alpha Tauri

09:35 , Dan Austin

One of the reasons some drivers may not setting truly representative laptimes is that they are running rake devices on their cars to test how airflow is moving over the car, as Pierre Gasly has been doing in the Alpha Tauri.

The main goals of pre-season testing are establishing the durability and reliability of the car, as well as amassing as much data as possible about how it performs and how the aero package compares to its performance in the wind tunnel. Laptimes and speed are not the most important thing.

Albon posts impressive time for Williams

09:26 , Dan Austin

Plenty of the cars out on track are still not setting truly representative times, instead practicing longer runs presumably on high fuel loads. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, for example, are over four seconds off the pace so far.

One interesting laptime though has come from the returning Alex Albon in the Williams. This morning the Thai-British driver has gone a second faster than anything Williams managed in yesterday’s running.

With a 1:21:657 on the medium tyres, that’s second fastest for now.

Apprehensive Norris not happy about setting pace on Wednesday

09:15 , Dan Austin

McLaren’s pace caught the attention of many yesterday as Lando Norris topped the timesheets at the end of the day’s running by half-a-second.

The 22-year-old Bristolian, though, urged caution about the team’s prospects for the season and explained why he would have preferred to have finished last.

“Now we’re P1, everyone’s going to think we’re going to win the [first] race,” Norris explained. “No chance. I think we’ve made some good improvements from the beginning of the day, but we’re only on day one of the season and even if we’re amazing now, everything could change by the time we get to the first race.

“And the rate of development everyone’s going to bring to the first half the season is going to be extremely high,” he added. “I didn’t want to be P1. If anything, I would rather be last because now the expectations are so high and everyone thinks we’re incredible.”

Leclerc urges caution over Ferrari pace

09:06 , Dan Austin

Ferrari themselves are urging caution over the pace they have shown so far, with driver Charles Leclerc insisting that others teams will be hiding their true pace in Barcelona.

“The initial feeling is not bad, but we shouldn’t get carried away by the timesheets today, as these are early days and everyone is still hiding their true form,” the Monegasque explained.

“It’s impossible to have a clear picture just yet, so we have to stay focused and keep working hard. We put in a lot of laps, more than any other team today, and that’s a positive we will build on.”

Sainz fastest for Ferrari after first hour

08:57 , Dan Austin

We’ve now had just under an hour of running at the Circuit de Catalunya and the Ferrari is once again top of the timesheets.

Carlos Sainz is on top of the ten-man leaderboard after setting a time of 1:21:010 on the medium compound tyre, having driven 12 laps of the circuit so far. Lance Stroll is second in the Aston Martin, with Daniel Ricciardo third for McLaren.

lap times are not hugely important at this stage of testing but Ferrari will be the talk of the town if they set the pace across all three days.

Cars running airflow devices and high vis paint in Barcelona

08:48 , Dan Austin

You may spot some images of cars running quite bizarre looking metal contraptions attached to them at various points throughout the day.

Teams use rakes to measure how air is flowing over the car. These are occasionally brought again in Friday practice sessions during the season when teams make developments to their cars, but are most common in pre-season testing, and will be especially usefully this time around owing to the new aerodynamic regulations.

Some cars will also be splashed with high visibility paint throughout the day, which helps teams establish how the overall aerodynamic design of the car is working in practice in comparison with data from the wind tunnel.

Alfa Romeo still in the garage in Barcelona

08:40 , Dan Austin

All teams are out on track in Barcelona and running their first few laps of the morning session, except for Alfa Romeo.

The Swiss outfit struggled yesterday as technical issues hampered their ability t run their car and delayed their first venture onto the track, with test driver Robert Kubica completing the fewest amounts of any driver who took part in yesterday’s session.

The team has still not officially launched its C52 challenger for the new campaign, and a lack of running this week will be cause for concern if issues persist.

Morning F1 test underway in Barcelona

08:30 , Dan Austin

The morning session for today’s test in Barcelona is already underway!

Drivers took the track at 8am for the first portion of the day’s running, which lasts until 12pm. After an hour’s break, the cars will be on track again for another four-hour run until 5pm.

Most teams will run one driver in the morning session and then their team-mate in the afternoon, but some are sticking with the same man for the entire day. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo will spend eight hours in their cars today.

F1 testing news

08:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

Join us for all the live updates and news from Barcelona as Formula 1 pre-season testing continues at the Circuit de Catalunya. The first shakedown of 2022 began yesterday with Lando Norris setting the fastest time in the new McLaren MCL36, with the Woking-based squad making a real statement of intent on the soft tyres.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, drove the most laps of any individual driver at 147, while Ferrari put in the most in the most laps of any team at 153. Charles Leclerc was fastest in yesterday’s morning session as the Scuderia showed impressive pace with their radical new car design, fuelling hopes that they can challenge for this year’s championship.

Haas and Alfa Romeo struggled with technical issues and completed a meagre 43 and 32 tours of the track respectively. Today’s session is not being broadcast in the UK or anywhere else but we’ll bringing you all the most important insight here.