Hamilton doubles up for Mercedes in Spain

For the second day running it was a Mercedes atop the timesheet on Saturday, as the Formula One teams carried out their penultimate day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Felipe Massa set the morning pace for Williams on Pirelli’s supersoft tyre, but it was Lewis Hamilton who clocked the ultimate benchmark - a 1m 23.022s, recorded on soft rubber - a quarter of a second up on the Brazilian.

Kimi Raikkonen all but matched Massa’s time to finish third, also on a qualifying-type supersoft run in the Ferrari, while Carlos Sainz put Toro Rosso fourth, albeit over a second down on Hamilton’s marker.

In a productive day’s running, only two drivers failed to reach the 100 lap mark - Hamilton on 76, and Kevin Magnussen, who managed 39 on his first outing in the 2015 McLaren. Busiest man of the day was Nico Hulkenberg, who put another 158 laps on the new Force India following its Friday debut.

The day’s two red-flag stoppages both came in the final hour, with first Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber coming to a halt at Turn 3 and then Sainz’s Toro Rosso stopping at the same corner.


Unofficial Saturday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 23.022s, 76 laps
2. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 23.262s, 102 laps
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 23.276s, 136 laps
4. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 24.191s, 132 laps
5. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 24.200s, 116 laps
6. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 24.477s, 123 laps
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 24.939s, 158 laps
8. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1m 25.225s, 39 laps
9. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 25.742s, 128 laps

(source: f1.com)

Rosberg and Mercedes fire ominous warning on day two

Mercedes finally hit the front in 2015 pre-season testing on Friday, as Nico Rosberg set an imperious new benchmark on day two in Barcelona.

Elsewhere there was encouragement for McLaren, as Jenson Button completed more than 100 laps on the team's most successful day to date, and Force India, who rolled out their new car for the first time and clocked up close to 80 laps across the afternoon.

But it was Mercedes who stole the show. Despite being the early favourites given their dominance in 2014, the Silver Arrows had not troubled the top of the timesheets over the opening nine days of testing. That changed, however, as the team bolted on Pirelli's soft compound for the first time this year, allowing Rosberg to clock a blistering 1m 22.792s on his first run.

The German came close to bettering that on subsequent runs, but it was ultimately good enough to keep him comfortably top, more than a second clear of the field - and more than 2.5s faster than Lewis Hamilton's 2014 pole time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Williams locked out second in Mercedes' wake courtesy of Valtteri Bottas, who took over from day-one pacesetter Felipe Massa, with Sauber's Felipe Nasr fractions of a second down the road in third.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fourth, albeit 2.5s off Rosberg's pace, while Button earned McLaren fifth place, a welcome boost to add to their lap tally. 

Lotus's Pastor Maldonado shaded Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen and Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat for eighth, with Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the day's runners in ninth for Force India.

Verstappen was one of the day's busiest men with 139 laps, although his running was cut slightly short by an electrical problem on the STR10.

"Another good day as we did a lot of laps," Verstappen said. "From my perspective, the most important part was this afternoon's race distance, when the pace looked very promising. It was my first time driving the car with the latest updates and they seemed to be working very well and I felt very comfortable with it."

Button also hit issues late on when he stopped out on track between Turns 7 and 8, bringing out the red flags for only the second time of the day. Kvyat had prompted the first stoppage when he was instructed to halt out on track as a precaution after Red Bull discovered a hydraulic sensor issue.


Unofficial Friday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 22.792s, 106 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 23.995s, 90 laps
3. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 24.071s, 141 laps
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 25.339s, 143 laps
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 25.590s, 101 laps
6. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 26.705s, 140 laps
7. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 26.766s, 139 laps
8. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 26.965s, 84 laps
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 28.412s, 77 laps

(source: f1.com)

Massa fastest for Williams as McLaren toil on day one

Felipe Massa laid down an impressive marker for Williams on the opening day of the final pre-season test of 2015 in Spain, as McLaren were once again restricted by technical problems.

Massa hit the front early on Thursday afternoon, bolting on Pirelli's soft-compound tyre and scything down to a 1m 23.500s - the fastest time seen so far this year in Barcelona, and enough to leave him almost a second clear of the field at the chequered flag.

Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, the day's busiest man with 122 laps, moved into second following late runs on the supersoft tyre, but his best was still 0.776s adrift of Massa.

Ericsson's surge bumped the Mercedes of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton to third. The Briton had set the morning pace courtesy of an early run on medium tyres, but was then restricted by a failure of the MGU-K which curtailed his afternoon running.

McLaren fared even worse, as their troubled pre-season continued with the discovery of a hydraulic leak that effectively ended Jenson Button's running after just seven laps. The Briton languished in eighth in the timesheet, almost eight seconds off Massa's pace.

"After just seven laps, Jenson noted a vibration and brought the car back to the pits, where we discovered a hydraulic leak that required a full power-unit change," McLaren said. "The time required to complete the change unfortunately meant that our running for the day was over before lunchtime."

Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat was fourth fastest, narrowly ahead of Lotus's Romain Grosjean - who set the outright pace in the previous test at Barcelona - and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Carlos Sainz Junior was seventh for Toro Rosso, as the team introduced radical revisions, including a new front nose, to the STR10.

The Spaniard caused the second of two red flags when he stopped at Turn 10 early in the afternoon session, although Toro Rosso were able to get him back out for the final half hour of the day. Kvyat had triggered the first red flags when he stopped in the pit lane just a few minutes after the session commenced.

Testing continues on Friday, when Force India are aiming to run their new VJM08 for the first time. Nico Hulkenberg is primed for driving duties, with the team hopeful of clocking up the first miles in their 2015 machine in the afternoon. 


Unofficial Thursday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 23.500s, 103 laps
2. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 24.276s, 122 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 24.881s, 48 laps
4. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 25.947s, 75 laps
5. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 26.177s, 75 laps
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 26.327s, 80 laps
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 26.962s, 86 laps
8. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 31.479s, 7 laps

(source: f1.com)

More rambling before the last test venue in Barcelona

Tomorrow's the last tests in Barcelona before the season starts at Melbourne in two weeks. I have a few things to say so thought some of you might be interested.

So before the previous tests I said that Ferrari is going to continue being fast and Lotus is going to surprise us. This happened so I was not surprised but maybe some of you were.

It almost looks like the other teams have reached Mercedes and that they will not be as dominant this year. I am very happy because of that! Mercedes is still strong though and don't forget that.

Ferrari looks like they are now probably better than Red Bull, and Lotus might even challenge them (Red Bull) and maybe Williams too.

Williams on the other hand have said that they are going to be stronger than last year but why haven't we seen anything in testing. Are they hiding their speed or what's going on? I really hope they are doing well because they became my favorite team last year. Let's see if I will cheer for them this year as well. My favorites sometimes change even during races. I just love the sport I guess...

McLaren-Honda is not looking that good at the moment but I am sure they will get much better during the season. I am counting on it!

I haven't compared all of the 2015 teammates yet but I will do that during the two weeks before the first race. If you haven't read the ones that I have already written then please do. You can find them by making a search up to the left.

Also remember that we are starting our PREDICTORS LEAGUE right away from Melbourne this year so remember to send me your predictions! TOP3 of the race, pole position and who sets the fastest lap of the race.

Tomorrow I will post the results from Barcelona after the tests are over and if you wanna know what's going on during the day then I'll try to keep you posted on the F1 4 LIFE Facebook page.

That's it for today ;)

Happy 60th Birthday Alain Prost!

His place in Formula One history as one of the sport's greatest drivers is secure, though a career full of conflict and controversy detracted somewhat from his considerable achievements. He won four championships but also left teams acrimoniously on four occasions. He made winning races - 51 times - look easy but was less successful at the politics in which he was invariably embroiled. His bitter feud with Ayrton Senna brought out the best and worst in them both. And yet among the champions only Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio won more than Alain Prost.

Alain Prost was born on February 24, 1955, near Saint Chamond in the Loire region of central France, where his father Andre manufactured kitchen furnishings. Alain was a busy little boy with a boundless energy that more than made up for any shortcomings he might have in terms of physical height. He threw himself into wrestling, roller skating and playing football with such vigour that his prominent nose was broken several times. Athletically inclined, he thought about becoming a gym instructor or parlaying his proficiency at soccer into a professional career. Instead, his passion turned to kart racing which he discovered at 14 while on a family holiday in the south of France. What began as fun quickly became an obsession and he won several karting championships. In 1974 he left school to become a full-time racer, supporting himself by tuning engines and a becoming a kart distributor. His prize for winning the 1975 French senior karting championship was a season in Formula Renault, a category in which he went on to win two driving titles before moving to Formula Three. In 1978 and 1979 he won both the French and European F3 championships, by which time he was on the shopping lists of several Formula One teams. After carefully considering his options he chose to sign with McLaren for 1980.  

In his first Formula One season he finished in the points four times but also had several accidents, breaking his wrist in one of them and suffering a concussion in another. Some of his crashes were caused by worrying mechanical failures and Alain also had misgivings about the way the McLaren team was run. Amidst some acrimony he chose to break his two-year contract and signed with Renault.

His first Formula One victory came at home: a French driver in a French car in the 1981 French Grand Prix at Dijon. For Alain the momentous occasion that marked the beginning of his winning ways was memorable mostly for the change it made in his mindset. "Before, you thought you could do it," he said. "Now you know you can." The victories kept coming - he had nine during his three seasons with Renault - but the winner found himself increasingly at odds with the home team's management, who made him the scapegoat for failing to win a championship, and with the French fans, who much preferred the homely appeal of his ragtag team mate Rene Arnoux, with whom Prost had a running feud. Fed up with it all, Alain moved his wife Anne-Marie and their son Nicolas to Switzerland and went racing again with the British-based McLaren team in 1984.

In his six seasons with McLaren Alain Prost won 30 races and three driving titles and was runner-up twice. In 1985 he became the first French World Champion. In 1986 he became the first back-to-back champion since Jack Brabham 26 years earlier. In 1987, his 28th Grand Prix victory beat Jackie Stewart's 14-year-old record. In 1988, Prost contributed seven wins to his McLaren-Honda team's one-sided season total of 15 victories from 16 races. However, his brilliant new team mate Ayrton Senna won eight races and the driving title. Thus began the sensational rivalry that conspired to push two of the sport's greatest drivers to unprecedented heights of success and controversy.

Alain Prost, nicknamed 'The Professor' for his cerebral approach to racing, needed all his brainpower and driving skill to take on the formidable Senna. Unable to match him in pure speed, The Professor (like his heroes Stewart and Lauda) managed to hold his own by perfecting an economical style: starting a race conservatively, taking it easy on the brakes and tyres and then making a late race challenge. Meanwhile, the Brazilian's tendency to go flat out all the time (even in the rain, which Prost hated) left his French team mate behind in terms of public appeal, which was another contributing factor in what became the most bitter feud in Formula One history.

McLaren's domination continued throughout 1989 and the Prost-Senna struggle for supremacy put them on a collision course. Mutual admiration turned to all-out hatred, with the Frenchman accusing his Brazilian team mate of dangerous driving and of receiving more than a fair share of attention from both McLaren and Honda. Their embittered season ended in a controversial clash in the chicane at Suzuka, where Prost deliberately shut the door on Senna and clinched his third driving title, whereupon he promptly stalked off to join his new employers: Ferrari.

In his first year with Ferrari Prost won five races and again came to the 1990 season finale in Japan with only his McLaren adversary capable of depriving him of the championship. Senna did just that, taking his second driving title by deliberately driving into the Ferrari at Suzuka. "What he did was disgusting," Prost said. "He is a man without value."

In 1991 Ferrari fell off the pace and for the first time in ten years Alain Prost failed to win a race. He blamed the Italian team for losing the plot, went public with his criticism and was fired before the end of the season. With no time to find another ride he took a sabbatical from driving and spent 1992 as TV commentator, before returning in 1993 with Williams-Renault to win seven more races - bringing his total to a then record 51 - and take his fourth driving title. Faced with the prospect of having the hated Senna becoming his Williams team mate The Professor announced his retirement, saying: "The sport has given me a lot but I decided the game wasn't worth it any more."

But he wasn't yet finished playing the game. He went back to TV commentating and worked as an adviser and test driver for McLaren, before buying the Ligier team in 1997 and renaming it Prost Grand Prix. Beset by political and financial problems the team was an embarrassment for the four-time champion, who closed up shop at the end of 2001.

(source: f1.com)

The Barcelona test in numbers - who went fastest, and furthest

With four days of running at Jerez already under their belts, the teams were able to change focus slightly and begin discovering the true potential of their 2015 machines over the four-day pre-season test at Barcelona.

But which teams have made a jump forward, and which are at risk of dropping down the order? We crunch the numbers to shed some light on whose preparations appear to be coming on the strongest for the forthcoming season...

This week's unofficial aggregate test times from Barcelona:
1. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 24.067s, 111 laps
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 24.321s, 197 laps
3. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 24.348s, 173 laps
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 24.574s, 202 laps
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 24.584s, 164 laps
6. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 24.672s, 143 laps
7. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 24.702s, 155 laps
8. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 24.739s, 223 laps
9. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 24.923s, 201 laps
10. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 24.941s, 216 laps
11. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 24.956s, 152 laps
12. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 25.345s, 178 laps
13. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 25.604s, 188 laps
14. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 25.961s, 79 laps
15. Jolyon Palmer, Lotus, 1m 26.280s, 77 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 26.312s, 181 laps
17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 26.340s, 166 laps
18. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 26.591s, 36 laps
19. Pascal Wehrlein, Force India, 1m 27.333s, 113 laps
20. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 28.182s, 45 laps
21. Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes, 1m 28.489s, 48 laps
22. Susie Wolff, Williams, 1m 28.906s, 86 laps

Total distance run - by team (power unit, where different): 
1. Mercedes, 446 laps - 2,076 km
2. Red Bull (Renault), 418 laps - 1,945 km
3. Toro Rosso (Renault), 411 laps - 1,913 km
4. Williams (Mercedes), 407 laps - 1,894 km
5. Lotus (Mercedes), 361 laps - 1,680 km
6. Ferrari, 345 laps - 1, 605 km
7. Sauber (Ferrari), 318 laps - 1,480 km
8. Force India (Mercedes), 304 laps - 1,415 km
9. McLaren (Honda), 124 laps - 577 km

Total distance run - by power unit:
1. Mercedes, 1,518 laps - 7,066 km
2. Renault, 829 laps - 3,858 km
3. Ferrari, 663 laps - 3,086 km
4. Honda, 124 laps - 577 km

Longest stints - by tyre compound:
Supersoft compound - 5 laps (Felipe Nasr; Sergio Perez; Pascal Wehrlein)
Soft compound - 16 laps (Valtteri Bottas)
Medium compound - 24 laps (Max Verstappen)
Prototype medium compound* - 14 laps (Daniel Ricciardo)
Hard compound - 27 laps (Valtteri Bottas)
Intermediate compound - 7 laps (Sebastian Vettel)

*Being assessed by Pirelli for development purposes

Second test comparison - Year on Year*
2014 (Bahrain) - 2,322 laps (12,566 km) completed in four days
2015 (Barcelona) - 3,134 laps (14,587 km) completed in four days
That's a 16 percent increase

2014 fastest lap in qualifying at Barcelona - 1m 25.232s (Lewis Hamilton)
2015 fastest lap in testing at Barcelona - 1m 24.067s (Romain Grosjean)
That's 1.4 percent faster

*Bahrain hosted the second pre-season test in 2014

(source: f1.com)

Grosjean fastest, Alonso crashes as Barcelona test concludes

Romain Grosjean went fastest for Lotus as Fernando Alonso crashed and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure on the final day of the second pre-season test at Barcelona.

Grosjean leapt to the top of the timesheets in the afternoon when he bolted on Pirelli's supersoft compound and dropped down to a 1m 24.067s - the fastest time any driver managed over the four-day test in Spain.

"We made some good improvements with the balance and set-up over the course of the day and it felt a lot better after we made changes for the afternoon," Grosjean said. "We completed a very promising mileage and it's always good to see your name at the top of the timing monitors, even if it is far too early to know what everyone else is doing."

But even before Grosjean hit the front, McLaren had called an early end to their own testing programme following Alonso's crash.

The Spaniard hit the wall on the inside of the track between Turns 3 and 4 shortly before midday. An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, and Alonso was taken to the circuit's medical centre before being airlifted to hospital for further checks.

McLaren subsequently confirmed that Alonso was “conscious and spoke with the doctors”.

Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat had occupied second spot heading into the final hour, but was demoted following a blistering late run from Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.

Despite using Pirelli's medium tyre, Rosberg was able to work down to a 1m 24.321s - putting him within three tenths of a second of Grosjean's benchmark.

Kvyat therefore finished third fastest ahead of Sauber's Felipe Nasr and Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who like Rosberg improved late on.

"It was another good day for us," Kvyat explained. "We learned a lot that will be of benefit in the future and that's what testing is all about. The steps we are making are encouraging and there is plenty of potential there."

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Junior was sixth quickest, although his day ended prematurely when he also crashed exiting Turn 3. 

“It was a really good day until I crashed," the Spaniard reflected. "Unfortunately I made a mistake at Turn 3, which is not the best place to do that, because the barriers are close at that point. I'd rather crash in the test than in Race 1, so I have learned something from it and now we turn the page, move on and think about next week's test here. 

"There are many positives to take from this test. I was a different driver in the car and I felt much more confident here in Barcelona. Everything went really smoothly and I felt we had made a big step forward with the car from Day 2 to Day 4."

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was seventh fastest ahead of Nico Hulkenberg - driving the 2014 Force India VJM07 - and Alonso.

"First of all, I'd like to wish Fernando a quick recovery," Vettel said. "As for today's test, I can say that we have focused mainly on the car's reliability, completing some long-runs, and testing various settings and tyre configurations. We could not run as much as we'd like, but at this stage of winter testing there are always some teething problems you have to deal with. Overall, I can confirm that my feeling with the car is positive."

Alonso managed just 20 laps in total, the fewest of any driver. Rosberg led the way, clocking up 131 for Mercedes.

The teams have just three days before the final pre-season test commences at Barcelona on February 26-March 1.

Unofficial Sunday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 24.067s, 111 laps
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 24.321s, 131 laps
3. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 24.941s, 104 laps
4. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 24.956s, 73 laps
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 25.345s, 129 laps
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 25.604s, 88 laps
7. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 26.312s, 76 laps
8. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 26.591s, 36 laps
9. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 27.956s, 20 laps

(source: f1.com)

Maldonado puts Lotus back on top in Barcelona

Pastor Maldonado topped the timesheets for the second time in three days as Lotus continued their encouraging pre-season testing form in Barcelona on Saturday.

The Venezuelan driver, quickest on the opening day of the test on Thursday, lapped the Catalan circuit in 1m 24.348s on supersoft tyres in the afternoon session to finish just under four tenths of a second clear of Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen.

Verstappen, who also used supersoft tyres to set his best time, albeit in the morning, was the day’s lap leader, completing an impressive 129 circuits - equivalent to nearly two Grand Prix distances.

World champion Lewis Hamilton was third fastest for Mercedes, just ahead of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson who spent much of the morning consigned to the garage with gearbox issues. The Swede eventually racked up 53 laps; the Briton 101. 

Sebastian Vettel also cracked the 100-lap barrier for Ferrari after recovering from an embarrassing start to the day when he spun his SF15-T into the gravel on his out lap from the pits. The German ended with a best time of 1m 26.407s, which was marginally quicker than Daniil Kvyat’s best effort for Vettel’s former team, Red Bull.

Williams split their running between Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, with the Brazilian recording 55 laps in the morning and the Finn 49 laps in the afternoon. Massa set the slightly quicker time of the two drivers, though Bottas spent much of his spell in the car doing pit stop practice.

Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein split the two Williams cars on the timesheet; the young German lapping in 1m 27.333s as he continued his spell in Force India’s year-old VJM07.

Bringing up the rear was Jenson Button on what was another hugely frustrating day for McLaren. The Briton completed just 24 laps, many of them at reduced power, as the team continued to be afflicted by problems with the MGU-K element of their Honda power unit. 

Testing concludes at Barcelona on Sunday.


Unofficial Saturday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 24.348s, 104 laps
2. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m24.739s, 129 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m26.076s, 101 laps
4. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 26.340s, 53 laps
5. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 26.407s, 105 laps
6. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 26.589s, 111 laps
7. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 26.912s, 55 laps 
8. Pascal Wehrlein, Force India, 1m 27.333s, 81 laps
9. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 27.556s, 49 laps
10. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 29.151s, 24 laps

(source: f1.com)

Ricciardo edges Raikkonen on day two in Spain

Daniel Ricciardo handed Red Bull a welcome boost by going fastest on this week's second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

It was incredibly tight at the top of Friday's timesheet, however, with less than a tenth of a second covering Ricciardo, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams of Felipe Massa.

Ultimately the Australian's 1m 24.574s - set on Pirelli's yellow-marked soft tyre - proved enough, with Raikkonen finishing 0.01s and Massa 0.098s down the road.

Sergio Perez was fourth in the year-old Force India VJM07, fractionally ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. The two-time world champion had not been expected to drive on day two, but took over for the afternoon session after Nico Rosberg's running was ended as a precaution so as to not aggravate a trapped nerve in his neck, which could have jeopardised his fitness for the final day on Sunday.

Hamilton set his best time on the white-marked medium tyres, but was still able to get within four-tenths of Ricciardo's overall benchmark.

Rosberg's morning left him sixth overall, also within a second of Ricciardo, while Fernando Alonso ended what was McLaren's most productive day so far in 2015 in seventh.

The Spaniard racked up 59 laps in total, even though the team are still waiting for a replacement seal on the MGU-K component of Honda's new power unit.

On his first test for Lotus, 2014 GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer wound up eighth fastest, as Sauber's Marcus Ericsson and Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Junior rounded out the top 10.

Sainz Jr triggered the red flags shortly after midday when he went off and into the gravel at Turn 9, while Ericsson caused a separate stoppage when he came to a halt on the start-finish line half an hour from the finish.

Testing continues at Barcelona on Saturday.


Unofficial Friday testing times from Barcelona:
1. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 24.574s, 143 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 24.584s, 90 laps
3. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 24.672s, 88 laps
4. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 24.702s, 121 laps
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 24.923s, 89 laps
6. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 25.556s, 66 laps
7. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 25.961s, 59 laps
8. Jolyon Palmer, Lotus, 1m 26.280s, 77 laps
9. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 27.334s, 113 laps
10. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 28.945s, 100 laps

(source: f1.com)