20/02/2015
NEWS STORY
Daniel Ricciardo topped the timesheets at lunchtime following an uneventful morning session at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Compared to yesterday, when there were four red flags, today there was just one and it only lasted a few minutes, after Ricciardo ground to a halt at the end of the pitlane and had to be rescued.
Although there were fears over an inflamed nerve, Nico Rosberg has shown no sign of slowing down or cutting back on the workload, the German the busiest man this morning.
This afternoon, in the wake of yesterday's health issue for teammate Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg - who this morning revealed that his wife Vivian is expecting their first child - will hand over to the Briton.
Whilst drivers initially focussed on aero work, necessitating the use of the 'garden fence' sensors we have become accustomed to, as the morning progressed they switched to longer runs and set-up work.
Between them the nine drivers on duty have completed over 400 laps, and assuming there are no major problems this afternoon we could see the tally edging close to a thousand.
As expected, there has been limited running for Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, as Honda awaits the arrival of new components following its MGU-K issue yesterday. Nonetheless the team will be happy with his 28 lap tally and the fact that he is only 1.8s off the pace.
As the drivers switched to longer runs we have seen almost all the various compounds in use, and as the conditions improve we should see the pace increase this afternoon. That said, Ricciardo's best time (1:24.574) is already 0.65s quicker than Lewis Hamilton's pole-winning time from last year, which bodes well for those anticipating increased speeds this season.
While Mercedes and Williams appear to be continuing to hold off, it is interesting to note that Ferrari remains very much on the pace, Kimi Raikkonen just 0.010s off Ricciardo's time.
Morning Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Ricciardo | Red Bull | 64 | 1:24.574 | 123.125 mph |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | 46 | 1:24.584 | 0.010 |
| Perez | Force India | 44 | 1:24.702 | 0.128 |
| Rosberg | Mercedes | 66 | 1:25.556 | 0.982 |
| Alonso | McLaren | 28 | 1:26.387 | 1.813 |
| Massa | Williams | 47 | 1:26.927 | 2.353 |
| Ericsson | Sauber | 58 | 1:27.334 | 2.760 |
| Palmer | Lotus | 31 | 1:28.128 | 3.554 |
| Sainz | Toro Rosso | 42 | 1:28.945 | 4.371 |
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