Day 4 of F1 testing: As it happened

Mark Scott
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton

See how the fourth day of pre-season testing unfolded at the Circuit de Catalunya as Alfa-Romeo topped the lapboard courtesy of Robert Kubica.

All times local (Morning session begins at 0900 and ends at 1300; Afternoon session runs from 1400 to 1800). Manually refresh to update the page.

Day four timesheet: 1. Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo; 2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull; 3. Sergio Perez, Racing Point; 4. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri; 5. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri; 6. Alex Albon, Red Bull; 7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes; 8. Lance Stroll, Racing Point; 9. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes; 10. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari; 11. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault; 12. Carlos Sainz, McLaren; 13. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari; 14. Nicholas Latifi, Williams; 15. George Russell, Williams; 16; Romain Grosjean, Haas; 17. Lando Norris, McLaren; 18. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo;19. Esteban Ocon, Renault.

18:05: Thanks for following PlanetF1’s coverage from the fourth day of pre-season testing. See you again tomorrow at 0900 local time for Day 5. In the meantime, check out the full Day 4 report right here.

17:57: Both Verstappen and Kvyat have pulled over and got out of their cars. Unsurprisingly, the red flag is waving and the session will not be restarted.

17:50: Grosjean has hit the 100-lap mark for the day. He’ll be feeling sore tonight.

17:41: He may not have set any mega lap times today, but at least Norris has had some fun exploring.

17:37: Just in case anybody wasn’t aware that the Racing Point is quick, Perez has just gone P3 on the C3 tyre.

17:27: Something has happened on the lapboard! It’s courtesy of Verstappen who moves up to P2 on the C3 tyre with a 1:17.347.

17:10: 50 minutes of the session left. Race simulations are all well and good, but we’d love someone to have a go at some purple laps now.

16:30: Perez is approaching race distance. Meanwhile, Verstappen has had a small spin and briefly returned to the pits.

16:24: The track is starting to fill up again now. Six drivers out there at the moment, none on quick laps though.

16:19: Not much happening here; I say we move testing to Spa for tomorrow, give these cars a REAL test.

16:09: Ocon goes out for 11 laps before heading back in. Perez is the only man on track at the moment.

16:00: Verstappen has now surpassed Albon’s lap count from earlier today.

15:42: Usually, the afternoon session yields quicker times. That isn’t the case so far today, but there’s still just over two hours left of the session…

15:27: Renault is now the only team not to run a car in both sessions today as Esteban Ocon waits around in the garage. The French team have taken a while with their driver changeovers quite often in the last week.

15:20: Russell is on track! A good effort from the Williams mechanics to fix the car in time.

15:05: Verstappen goes half a tenth faster than Bottas on the C2 tyre to move into P6.

14:51: Williams have yet to repair the issue that caused their car to retire this morning. At this rate, Russell won’t get much time in the car.

14:44: Bottas puts in a decent time to move up to P6 for the day, just over a second down on Kubica’s benchmark.

14:39: No notable lap times as of yet as everybody settles in for long runs.

14:30: Verstappen is out on track already. A much better start for Red Bull than in the earlier session today.

14:19: Sergio Perez is the first man out.

14:12: No cars on track yet, but when they get there, they’ll all be driven by different drivers other than the Haas, who are the only team not to swap drivers for the afternoon.

14:00: We’re back underway for the final session of the day.

13:00: That’s that for the morning session, with Kubica ending it in P1. Go grab some breakfast, lunch or dinner, depending on where you are in the world, and join us back here in just under an hour for the afternoon session.

12:48: More good news for Honda as Gasly puts himself in P4.

12:46: Albon, on the C2 tyre, moves up to P2, doing a 1:17.550. It has been a poor morning session for Red Bull, but that’s an encouraging sign.

12:42: Hamilton and Vettel have both surpassed race distance for the day with the former doing another personal best.

12:21: Kubica goes top! The Alfa-Romeo clocks a 1:16.942 on the softest compound tyre to go eight tenths clear of Hamilton in P1.

12:18: Pretty quiet on track at the moment; most cars are in the pit-lane.

12:07: Ricciardo improves to go P4 with a 1:18.214. Less than an hour to go until lunch.

12:02: Albon’s first time is a 1:18.822, and Gasly goes a tenth slower. Meanwhile, Kubica has moved up to P4.

11:57: We’re back underway and both Albon and Gasly are finally out on track! The fact that they come out at the same time does suggest there was indeed an issue with their engines…

11:41: Another red flag as Latifi grinds to a halt and pulls over to the side. That may take a while to clear.

11:36: Sainz is back out and running well. The same can’t be said for Albon, whose Red Bull apparently has suspension problems.

11:23: Hamilton, approaching the 50-lap mark, moves back to the top with a 1:17.753.

11:18: We’re back underway, with just over 90 minutes left of the session.

11:16: Here’s how the red car brought out the red flag…

11:06: Red flag! Vettel puts too much car on the gravel, causing him to spin and sending gravel all over the track. The car is unharmed, but they’ll need to clear that up.

11:04: McLaren have the floor off Sainz’s car and are working on some kind of issue. Don’t expect to see him out until the later session today.

10:46: Right, Stroll, on the C3 compound, has just gone top with a 1:17.787. We’re trying not to get carried away considering it’s just testing, but that’s a seriously decent time…

10:38: With Sainz going P5, Gasly and Albon are now the only drivers yet to set a time today. Issues with the Honda engine, perhaps?

10:33: Latifi goes P3 with a 1:18.682. It may only be testing, but isn’t it nice to see a Williams that high up? Long may it continue.

10:27: Hamilton and Vettel continue to trade the blows as the Mercedes man takes back top spot with his 32nd lap. It’s been a good morning session for both drivers.

10:16: Stroll puts his Racing Point (Mercedes) in P3 with a 1:18.942 on the C3 compound. When are we going to start calling them the Pink Arrows?

10:14: Kubica splits Ricciardo and Grosjean.

10:05: Things are getting tight at the top. Vettel comes back out and puts himself back in P1, going eight thousandths quicker than Hamilton. Oof.

09:57: A 1:19.836 from Ricciardo puts Renault on the board. Tell you what, we’re starting to *really* like their testing livery; we vote they keep it for Melbourne.

09:51: Hamilton takes back top spot with a 1:18.292 on the C2 compound, otherwise known as the Zandvoort tyres. Given that Vettel has returned to the pits, expect the Brit to hold P1 for a while now, although who knows what Racing Point can throw up…

09:48: There’s finally a third name on the lapboard and it’s that of Romain Grosjean. Haas enjoyed a solid first week of testing but both drivers did crash once each. Try to keep it on track this week boys, we’ll get enough of angry Gunther in Drive to Survive tomorrow…

09:44: The Orange Army may be the most talked about, but Kubica’s Polish fans have got to be some of the most dedicated out there…

09:31: The German improves with a 1:18.775. Himself and Hamilton are still the only drivers to set a time.

09:28: Vettel, on his seventh lap, goes top with a 1:19.146 on C1 tyres.

09:20: Kubica, Stroll and Latifi the only drivers on track at the moment.

09:10: Vettel the next to put a time on the board with a 1:21.859.

09:06: Hamilton setting the early pace on the C4 tyre, doing a 1:20.572.

09:00 Green light and the pit lane is open.

08:45: Day 1 line-up: Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (AM), Valtteri Bottas (PM); Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel (AM), Charles Leclerc (PM); Red Bull: Alexander Albon (AM), Max Verstappen (PM); McLaren: Carlos Sainz (AM), Lando Norris (PM); Renault: Daniel Ricciardo (AM), Esteban Ocon (PM); AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly (AM), Daniil Kvyat (PM); Racing Point: Lance Stroll (AM), Sergio Perez (PM); Alfa Romeo: Robert Kubica (AM), Kimi Raikkonen (PM); Haas: Romain Grosjean; Williams: Nicholas Latifi (AM), George Russell (PM).

08:30: Hello and welcome back to Barcelona for the start of the second pre-season test. Ready to do it all again? Stupid question, really, isn’t it? The session gets underway in 30 minutes so stay tuned!

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