F1 Testing: Russell straps on softest Pirellis to go fastest
Mercedes newcomer George Russell strapped on the softest (C5) of the five tire compounds Pirelli brought to Barcelona for preseason F1 testing and has gone fastest 1/2-hour before the 1:00pm lunch break on the final day of testing in Spain.
However, Verstappen looks the strongest on the Mediums, obviously still sandbagging.
Times at 12:30pm Friday
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Tire | Laps |
| 1 | Russell | Mercedes | 1m19.233s | C5 | 63 |
| 2 | Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m19.756s | C3 | 55 |
| 3 | Vettel | Aston Martin | 1m19.824s | C5 | 45 |
| 4 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m20.092s | C3 | 41 |
| 5 | Latifi | Williams | 1m20.699s | C4 | 5 |
| 6 | Norris | McLaren | 1m20.827s | C3 | 52 |
| 7 | Alonso | Alpine | 1m21.242s | C3 | 12 |
| 8 | Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1m22.469s | C4 | 40 |
| 9 | Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1m22.371s | C3 | 40 |
| 10 | Albon | Williams | 1m22.652s | C3 | 21 |
| 11 | Mazepin | Haas | 1m26.229s | C3 | 9 |