F1 Testing: Ricciardo puts McLaren on top again on Day 2

The new McLaren MCL36 powered by Mercedes has been consistently fast as preseason testing has reached the mid-point in Barcelona, Spain.

Yesterday it was Lando Norris who turned the fastest lap in the afternoon and this morning, running the C3 medium tires, his McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo turned the fastest lap in the #3 McLaren at the lunch break on Day 2 of testing.

Carlos Sainz Jr. had the Ferrari on top most of the morning, but was pipped by 0.2s by Ricciardo just before the lunch break.

#55 Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari during the winter testing days, Barcelona 23-25 February 2022, Formula 1 World championship 2022.

Pierre Gasly was 3rd quick in the Alpha Tauri, 0.4s back

The testing had its first red-flag of the week when Sergio Perez stopped his RB18 Red Bull on the exit of Turn 13, it’s engine switched off. The team later reported it was a gearbox issue, but it has been fixed.

Mick Schumacher also spun in Turn 13 but that only brought out a local yellow as he was able to continue on

Let’s remind our readers that teams are not showing their full hands yet, and likely won’t until the first race qualifying session in March, but the testing does provide us with a potential pecking order early on.

Day 2 Testing Times at Lunch Break

Pos Driver Team Time Tire Laps
1 Ricciardo McLaren 1m20.355s C3 64
2 Sainz Ferrari 1m20.546s C3 71
3 Gasly AlphaTauri 1m20.764s C3 60
4 Albon Williams 1m21.531s C3 47
5 Stroll Aston Martin 1m21.920s C3 55
6 Schumacher Haas 1m21.949s C3 65
7 Bottas Alfa Romeo 1m22.288s C3 21
8 Perez Red Bull 1m22.412s C2 38
9 Hamilton Mercedes 1m22.562s C2 40
10 Ocon Alpine 1m23.280s C2 66