The tyre compounds drivers used to set their fastest times in Barcelona

Pirelli have revealed which tyre compound was used by each driver on their fastest lap of the 2022 pre-season test in Barcelona, and it makes for interesting reading.

Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time throughout the three-day event, with a lap of 1:19.138 towards the end of the final day on Friday. This was set on the Soft (C5) tyre.

The seven-time World Champion's Mercedes teammate, George Russell, was second in the rankings with a time of 1:19.233, also using the C5 compound and set in the morning session on Friday.

Sergio Perez is next in the rankings. The Red Bull driver, like Hamilton, set his fastest lap later on in Friday's afternoon session, with a time of 1:19.556 on the Soft (C4) tyre.

This was also the compound used by Lando Norris for his quickest lap, though this was set on the first day of the test on Wednesday.

Next on the list are Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, who each put in their best time on the Medium (C3) compound. Leclerc's 1:19.689 was the fastest time overall on the second day of the test, whilst Verstappen set his personal best on Friday.

Pirelli boss Isola on deltas between compounds

Pirelli's head of motorsport, Mario Isola, has given an insight into how the data taken from the test in terms of deltas between compounds has matched up to what they had expected before the cars hit the track in Barcelona.

"During the test, we obviously collected data on the delta lap time, and we were very close to the target," Isola told media including RacingNews365.com.

"Target data says 0.5 seconds per lap as an average between two levels of compounds. If I have to tell you what we have seen here, [on] the first day, the delta between the C2 and C3 was very high.

"But I believe that, in some conditions, the C3 was working quite well, because it is a softer compound, so it was able to generate a lot of grip, while the C2 was probably not in the ideal working window, so the delta lap time was huge – [it] was one more than 1.5 seconds per lap.

"[On Thursday it] was around one second per lap. That means that, in hotter conditions where the C2 is able to generate more grip, and probably the C3 suffers a bit more because it's softer, this delta is going to be reduced.

"I cannot tell you now we are at 0.5 or 0.6 or 0.7, but it should be in that range."

The teams and drivers will have a further opportunity to experience the new 18-inch tyres when the second pre-season test takes place in Bahrain on 10-12 March.