Barcelona Day 3 Mid-Day Test Times – Raikkonen goes fastest

Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo

Using the softest tires Pirelli makes, Kimi Raikkonen became the first non-Ferrari driver to head the times at the end of a Formula 1 pre-season test session so far in 2019.

The Alfa Romeo driver turned in the fastest time seen so far in testing on a 1m17.762s to move to the top of the timesheets in the final hour of running in the morning, taking over from former Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Using the harder medium tires (2 levels harder than what Raikkonen used), Vettel led the way for much of the morning before the four-time world champion’s time was beaten by Raikkonen in the closing stages of the session, with the German finishing some six tenths down.

Valtteri Bottas was dead last in the Mercedes, but they are sandbagging. They also miss the greatest engineer F1 has ever known, Aldo Costa, who has scaled back to a part-time role with the team as he eases into retirement. However, he did have a big role in the design of the new car, so you know it will be good once Mercedes stops sandbagging.

Aldo Costa Makes World Champions – He Has No Equal

Times at Lunch break

C1 = hardest tires
C5 = softest tires