F1 Testing, Day two: Charles Leclerc fastest for Ferrari as Red Bull lose time after gearbox issue

Charles Leclerc fastest for Ferrari ahead of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri and the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo in third; George Russell fourth for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton endures limited morning session; Red Bull track-time limited after gearbox failure for Sergio Perez

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time on day two of testing in Barcelona

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheet for Ferrari on day two of pre-season testing, as Red Bull lost valuable time in Barcelona following a gearbox issue on Sergio Perez’s car.

McLaren had looked set to top the standings for a second successive day, but in a reversal of Wednesday’s proceedings Daniel Ricciardo was pushed off top spot by Leclerc’s 1:19.689, which was just over a tenth of a second off Lando Norris’ top time from the opening day.

The Australian ultimately ended up third, as Pierre Gasly posted the second-fastest time of the day for AlphaTauri, with Mercedes’ new driver George Russell fourth.

A gearbox issue saw Sergio Perez stop on track during the morning session

After a surprising lack of stoppages on the opening day, there were two red flags on Thursday, with Perez’s issue halting the opening session before a damaged fuel pump on Nikita Mazepin’s Haas interrupted the afternoon action.

Russell completed an encouraging 65 laps, after Lewis Hamilton experienced a limited morning session during which he was able to complete just 40 laps and ended up at the bottom of the day’s timesheet.

However, Mercedes’ total of 105 laps was still significantly greater than the 78 managed by rivals Red Bull, with Perez missing about two hours’ worth of running time after a gearbox issue saw him stop on track.

George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes

Perez did produce a solid stint upon his return, with a late time propelling him to seventh, and with 147 Max Verstappen laps in the bank from day one, there appears to be no reason for major concern in the Red Bull garage.

Carlos Sainz was fifth as Ferrari had another encouraging day, totalling the most laps for any team on the day with 150 circuits completed by the Spaniard and Leclerc. Gasly was just short of the mark with 147 laps, while Ricciardo managed 126.

Despite Mazepin’s stop on track, there were encouraging signs for Haas as the Russian driver moved up to eighth late in the day, while Alfa Romeo also showed signs of improvement as Chinese rookie Guanyu Zhou completed 71 laps in the afternoon session.

More to follow…