World champion Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell take to the track early on for third and final day of F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona… with rain expected to hit circuit in the afternoon
- Max Verstappen was given a rare day off on day two of pre-season testing
- But the F1 world champion was up bright and early on the final day of testing
- Mercedes star George Russell was also quick out of the blocks on Friday
- There is a 40 per cent chance of rain from 11am onwards in Barcelona
Max Verstappen wasted no time in getting out on the track on the third and final day of F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona.
The F1 world champion was given a rare day off on Thursday but was back to it bright and early at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday morning.
Red Bull star Verstappen also topped the timing sheets early on on the third day before his time was bettered by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
Max Verstappen was out early on the track on the third day of F1 pre-season testing
The F1 world champion was given a rare day off on Thursday on day two of Barcelona testing
However, the Spaniard suffered a problem soon after with smoke billowing from his car, with the red flags out less than an hour into the morning session.
Mercedes star George Russell was also quick out of the blocks after his comments that his team are behind Ferrari and McLaren after two days of pre-season testing.
Friday is also set to be a very different to the previous two days with a 40 per cent chance of rain possibly hitting the circuit from 11am onwards.
Moreover, it is expected that Pirelli will conduct a wet-weather test in the afternoon session, regardless of whether the weather holds or not.
It comes after an action-packed day two in which Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver to put Ferrari first Wednesday, while Lando Norris topped the timesheets on the opening day.
Mercedes star George Russell was also quick out of the blocks after his comments that his team are behind Ferrari and McLaren
Fernando Alonso topped the timing charts early on but then went off the track soon after
It is the first of two testing events, with the second taking place a week before the season-opener in Bahrain next month at the same circuit in Sakhir, which hosted last year’s pre-season testing.
All 10 teams will have had three days by the end of Friday to test their 2022 cars amid the biggest overhaul of regulations in F1 history as the sport aims for more competitive wheel-to-wheel racing and overtaking opportunities.
With nine out of 10 teams having already launched their spanking new models – Alfa Romeo will use an interim livery in Catalunya before their launch on Sunday – the talk of the town is to expect the unexpected.
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