19/02/2015
NEWS STORY
Morning Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Nasr | Sauber | 56 | 1:27.307 | 119.271 mph |
| Ricciardo | Red Bull | 18 | 1:27.363 | 0.056 |
| Maldonado | Lotus | 48 | 1:27.510 | 0.203 |
| Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 35 | 1:27.951 | 0.644 |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | 29 | 1:28.064 | 0.757 |
| Button | McLaren | 21 | 1:28.182 | 0.875 |
| Wehrlein | Force India | 32 | 1:28.329 | 1.022 |
| Wehrlein | Mercedes | 4 | 1:29.286 | 1.979 |
| Wolff | Williams | 77 | 1:30.217 | 2.910 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | 11 | 1:30.429 | 3.122 |
It's been an eventful morning at the Circuit de Catalunya as the second pre-season test gets underway.
The morning got off to a bright but chilly start, Sauber's Felipe Nasr the first driver to take to the track.
Just seven minutes into the session all but Ricciardo had appeared, Lewis Hamilton having already posted the first time of the day, albeit a somewhat leisurely 1:59.512.
After thirty minutes we got the first red flag, Pastor Maldonado grinding to a halt in T5, the team subsequently revealing: "Looking like it was a sensor issue that curtailed our run. Car's back, we're investigating and testing before sending out again."
Whilst the Venezuelan did indeed get running again, just over an hour later he brought out the red flags when he stopped again, this time in T4. "Car back, currently investigating second gremlin of the morning, doesn't appear to be too serious," tweeted the Enstone outfit.
Nasr and Verstappen were among the last to post times, leaving Daniel Ricciardo, who had only completed 8 laps in over three hours of running, the only driver yet to post one.
The big story of the day (thus far), came when Mercedes revealed that Hamilton was feeling unwell with a suspected fever and would play no further part in today's programme. Consequently the German team had to call on Force India for the return of Pascal Wehrlein whilst Sergio Perez was forced into action as day earlier than planned.
After a couple of promising runs it all went wrong for McLaren, the Woking team bringing its day to an early close with a; "faulty seal on the MGU-K which caused an issue that requires full replacement of the power-unit". Up until then, Jenson Button had completed 21 laps.
"Such issues are all part of testing," added McLaren, "we will plan for a productive day of running with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel tomorrow.2
Finally on track, Ricciardo went second on only his second flying lap, the Australian subsequently leapfrogged by Maldonado before taking the second post back again.
It's been a busy morning for Susie Wolff, the Briton completing over 60 laps in the Williams and finally leap-fogging Hamilton, demoting the world champion to last place, in the moments before lunch.
Just before the break, Wehrlein went out in the Mercedes, the German youngster immediately on the pace having spent the morning in the 2014 Force India.
Suggesting that its Jerez pace - where it was second to Ferrari - was no flash in the pan, Sauber - sporting a slightly revised livery - currently tops the timesheets courtesy of Nasr.
Check out our Thursday gallery, here.