Day 3 of F1 testing: As it happened

Mark Scott
Sebastian Vettel PA

Sebastian Vettel PA

See how the third day of pre-season testing unfolded at the Circuit de Catalunya as Mercedes dominated while Ferrari faltered.

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 3 timesheet:

1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.732 65
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.784 73
3 Esteban Ocon Renault +1.370 76
4 Lance Stroll Racing Point +1.606 116
5 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri +1.695 62
6 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing +1.737 152
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault +1.842 93
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.904 86
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +2.051 59
10 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing +2.422 83
11 Carlos Sainz McLaren +2.542 76
12 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team +2.648 48
13 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +2.652 100
14 Lando Norris McLaren +2.722 49
15 Nicholas Latifi Williams +3.272 72
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +3.977 4

1800: Well that’s it for today ladies and gents, and for week one too. Mercedes finish in their familiar position of dominance. Make sure to check out our report covering all the day’s action here and we will do all this again from next Wednesday for three more days of testing. Thanks for following!

1730: Well Renault have managed to get Ricciardo on the track again too, that was until he spun in the chicane. Luckily there is no damage and he continues.

1727: Latifi is back out on the track for some vital running late on in the day.

1718: Giovinazzi will need a nap after today as he closes in on 140 laps.

1657: The RS20 is back in the pit lane and the track goes green again with just over an hour remaining.

1643: More trouble for Renault – Ricciardo has pulled over on the run up to Turn 9. That engine is finished. Red flags are out.

1634: Norris remains stuck in the garage as the mechanics work on his MCL35. Hamilton meanwhile has bolted on the C5s as he continues to chase Bottas’ P1 time.

1622: Daniel Ricciardo folks, he asks over team radio: “How’s the excitement on pit wall?” “They all seem pretty excited” is the reply from his engineer. Sarcasm alert, great to see he hasn’t lost that sense of humour.

1615: The six-time World Champion is having a real go on the C4s, but a few sideways moments means he can’t improve on his latest lap.

1605: Hamilton improves again to a 1:16.6. It’s only the first week of testing sure, but that W11 looks mighty!

1552: No big times being set out there, race simulations are the order of the day. Williams are hoping to get Latifi out again before the session ends. They have just over two hours. The engine which failed has been sent back to HQ by the team.

1528: It wouldn’t be Formula One without a Mercedes one-two. Hamilton moves himself into P2, 1.359s down on the benchmark set by his team-mate this morning.

1515: It’s been a cracking day for Giovinazzi who is the only driver currently beyond 100 laps, having notched up 102. Meanwhile Haas principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed that Magnussen won’t be going back out today.

1506: Ricciardo puts in a practice start and heads out on the C2s.

1500: A bit of breaking news, Mercedes’ DAS will be a one-hit wonder after the FIA confirmed it will be banned from 2021. Read more about it here.

1445: The session is green again – Lewis Hamilton heads out onto the track for the first time today.

1429: Different Haas, same result. Kevin Magnussen is in the gravel. Out come the red flags.

1419: The doors are still very much closed over at Williams after Latifi’s issues. Ferrari have got Vettel back out there though.

1414: Giovinazzi has the track to himself currently for his race simulation runs.

1400: Welcome back folks. Who is ready for another four hours of testing here in Barcelona? The light is green.

1300: And that brings the morning session to an end, one dominated by Bottas. But there was certainly no shortage of action and our report recaps it all.

1239: Plenty of race sims going on out there, but Stroll did just set the fastest time through the speed trap in the last sector.

1228: Daniel Ricciardo was in a cheery mood when speaking to the media, but the ‘how is testing going’ question was met with silence.

1211: The track is green again. Verstappen wastes no time in getting back out there.

1204: Oh Valtteri stop it. The Finn used the softest C5 compound to set a 1:15.7. Just in time too with Nicholas Latifi breaking down on the main straight so the red flags are back out.

1159: Ocon makes a big improvement with the C4s as he jumps up to P2, just under 0.7s down on Bottas.

1154: The C4s are on for Bottas and he finds another two tenths, putting him over a second clear of the field.

1143: That W11 is mighty in the final sector, currently that is where the other driver’s times are getting destroyed.

1131: Kvyat takes a set of C4s for his AlphaTauri and improves to P2, he is still 0.75s down on Bottas’ benchmark though.

1122: No more running for Ferrari this morning. The Scuderia report that Vettel suffered an engine problem but it will be investigated back at Maranello.

1112: A new fastest lap of testing so far thanks to Bottas who improves to a 1:16.674.

1100: Bottas isn’t hanging around, a 1:16.8! Time to see who can respond.

1055: The session is green again.

1050: Vettel’s SF1000 has been loaded onto the recovery truck. Still under red flag conditions.

1034: The red flags are out. Vettel has pulled up at Turn 12 and climbs out of the car. Not what he needs at all after missing a day already through illness.

1027: It’s only testing but already Kvyat and Grosjean are exchanging gestures after the pair get in each other’s way.

1023: Kvyat was a tenth up on the fastest time through the first two sectors but a big slide through the chicane cost him over half a second. P4 it is for the AlphaTauri driver.

1017: You have to give the people what they want. Bottas gives a little DAS demonstration as he exits the pit lane and heads down to Turn 1.

1011: Lance Stroll shoots himself up into P2, but he was running the C3s and so will have a nice grip boost to work with.

1003: Verstappen puts himself P1 again with a 1:17.6 but a big bump over the kerbs has broken his suspension. He returns to the pits and the screens go up at Red Bull.

0953: Vettel currently leads the way on laps completed with 25 under his belt already.

0948: That didn’t take long for Bottas to go P1. But that W11 is looking quite the handful at the moment.

0943: Mercedes made all the headlines yesterday, and they are back out on track now with Valtteri Bottas. If you somehow missed the controversy, here are all the details.

0940: The aero rakes are off Vettel’s car – he isn’t quite up to speed yet but sneaks into the 1:18’s.

0934: Carlos Sainz is trying out a new front wing as he moves into the 1:18’s to go P2.

0925: That’s more like it. A 1:18.309 sends Max Verstappen top in these early stages.

0919: Esteban Ocon sets the first kind of competitive time of the day – a 1:19.650 on the C2 tyres.

0916: Daniil Kvyat is out on the circuit too for AlphaTauri, and he sure looks ready for action!

0905: Sebastian Vettel is out for some early running with the aero raked attached to the side of his SF1000.

0900: The lights go green, Day 3 is underway.

0845:  Day 3 line up: Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas (am) / Lewis Hamilton (pm); Ferrari: Charles Leclerc / Sebastian Vettel; Red Bull: Max Verstappen (am) / Alexander Albon (pm); McLaren: Lando Norris (am) / Carlos Sainz Jnr (pm); Renault: Esteban Ocon (am) / Daniel Ricciardo (pm); AlphaTauri: Daniil Kvyat (am) / Pierre Gasly (pm); Racing Point: Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo: Antonio Giovinazzi; Haas: Romain Grosjean (am) / Kevin Magnussen (pm); Williams: Nicholas Latifi

0830:  Hello Formula 1 world, welcome back to Barcelona for the final day of the first pre-season test. It’s flown by! The track light will go green in 30 minutes. Stay tuned…

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