F1 drivers got their first proper taste of wet running in 2022 as this week's pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya entered its closing stages. Water trucks artificially dampened the track during the one-hour lunch break to give drivers some experience on the Wet and Intermediate tyres, in turn providing Pirelli with some useful data for the upcoming season. Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to emerge on the Wet rubber, racking up 37 laps in two hours, with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz also particularly productive, as they surpassed 50 laps completed. It was a frustrating end to a difficult test for Haas, however, as the team confirmed that they would not be able to return to the track after Nikita Mazepin stopped in the morning with a suspected leak in the VF-22.
Track dries up quickly, eyes already on Bahrain
While the track dried up quickly, allowing for a return to slicks, the times did not quite trouble those posted in the morning session. As such, Mercedes driver George Russell still holds the best time of the day - and the test - with his 1:19.233 on the Soft C5 tyres, half a second clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen on the Medium C3s. Indeed, Friday afternoon's times started out in the 1m44s bracket, before dropping all the way down to a 1m20.8s effort posted by Alex Albon on Softs. The final two hours of running will take place on a completely dry track, with drivers and teams hoping to cram in some late laps before turning their attentions to the second test session in Bahrain on 10-12 March. You can stay up to date with all the action from Barcelona in the dedicated RacingNews365.com live blog .
Most read
