It might only be a symbolic triumph for Scuderia Ferrari, but Charles Leclerc has made it onto the track with just a few minutes until the end of the afternoon testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. However, a long afternoon’s work following Sebastian Vettel’s crash this morning has delivered only one lap for the Monegasque racing driver, as Charles completed a single installation lap before heading back to the pits.
Not the Wednesday workout the Maranello team had in mind. McLaren end another day at the top of the standings as Carlos Sainz posts the fastest time, but it’s Ferrari’s struggles that will dominate the agenda. Sainz bolted around the Circuit de Catalunya in one minute 17.144 seconds, on one of his 130 laps, perhaps putting to bed once and for all suggestions that 2019’s cars will be much slower than last year’s due to the new aerodynamic regulations.
Joy at McLaren at that rapid lap time will have been shared at most garages up and down the pitlane as running was fairly smooth on Wednesday, except at Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel brought out red flags when a mechanical failure at the front left of the SF90 left him powerless to prevent skidding into the barriers at decent speed at turn three.
The shunt was significant enough to see the German taken to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up and also caused enough damage to keep Ferrari off the circuit for almost the entirety of the rest of the day.
Charles Leclerc emerged for a solitary lap right at the end of the day.
Mercedes pounded the track as they continued to gather data on the revamped W10, Lewis Hamilton putting up 102 laps in just the afternoon session alone, with Valtteri Bottas having managed 74 in the morning. Robert Kubica managed 130 laps in the Williams as their progress continues positively after last week’s delay, following on from another triple-figure day for George Williams on Tuesday.
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