26/02/2019
NEWS STORY
It was definitely a question of mixed fortunes as testing resumed at Barcelona this morning.
While Charles Leclerc spent much of the morning in the garage as Ferrari was "checking a few things", the Monegasque not appearing until an hour before the lunch break, Lewis Hamilton was busy completing 83 laps in a car on which virtually every aero part has been changed since last week.
Heading out sporting a new nose, front wing, sidepods, floor and various other parts, even the garden gate aero sensor on the W10 looked new.
Once again, the emphasis was pace and consistency, as Hamilton began the day with a 12-lap run, as opposed to outright speed.
When Leclerc did reappear just before lunch, he was soon on the pace, finishing the morning third quickest, just 0.062s off pace-setter Antonio Giovinazzi, but with Ferrari opting to split driving duties the youngster won't get to drive the SF90 again until tomorrow afternoon.
Interestingly, though consistently quick in the first two sectors, it was in the final sector - where the Ferrari appeared strongest last week - that he continually lost time.
Talking of Giovinazzi, the Alfa continues to impress, his best time only marginally off his best from last week, albeit on softer (C4) rubber.
Pierre Gasly had a good morning, completing 61 laps in the Red Bull and setting the pace for much of it until Giovinazzi's late charge.
Though Racing Point's anticipated raft of updates isn't expected to appear until Melbourne, Lance Stroll posted a respectable 19.139 to finish the morning fourth.
Having suffered a number of issues last week, causing four of the week's red flags, it was an altogether trouble-free morning for Haas where Kevin Magnussen was on duty. The Dane completed the most laps (84) on his way to the fifth best time.
Despite a slow start to the day, George Russell finally gave Williams something to smile about. Putting another 46 laps on the FW42 on his way to posting the sixth best time. OK, so it was on the softest rubber available, but it's a start.
Just 39 laps for Alexander Albon in the Toro Rosso, though there doesn't appear to be any concern at the comparative lack of running for the Faenza team.
Another busy man was Nico Hulkenberg, who hands over to teammate Daniel Ricciardo this afternoon. The German was one of several drivers who focussed on longer runs this morning, his best time being marginally off Hamilton's best.
Lando Norris was the cause of the morning's sole red flag, the Briton stopping at T4 just over two hours into the day with what is thought to be a hydraulics issue.
As a result the McLaren MCL34 has completed just 38 laps and is currently propping up the timesheets.