F1 - General discussion and 2017

Lunchtime digest

* Kimi Raikkonen becomes the first driver to lap in the 1:18s as he sets fastest time of winter testing so far

* Ferrari, Red Bull, Renault and Toro Rosso all set fastest times of F1 Testing so far

* Verstappen over half a second behind Raikkonen on same supersoft compound

* But Red Bull break into 1:19s on soft tyres

* The McLaren twice breaks down on track with same electrical issue that broke the MCL32 on Day Seven

MERCEDES AMG F1
@MercedesAMGF1
That's your lot, @ValtteriBottas ... ��
Total #F1Testing laps for the Finn = 628! ��
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#VB77 will be back behind the wheel in Melbourne #F1
 
A successful first few weeks for Valtteri Bottas in a Silver Arrow, but now it's time for Lewis Hamilton's last session in the car before the Australian GP.

Will Mercedes continue to focus on afternoon long runs, or will they want to put down a marker of their own to blunt Ferrari?

All will be revealed soon...
 
GREEN FLAG!
Here we go then, the final on track action before we fly off to Melbourne!+

Four hours of track running to go in Winter Testing!

And they are underway....now

I Will not be able to stay the course though.
We are meeting my In-Laws for Dinner at 6PM and whilst most things can be postponed for F1, Mother in Law is not one of them :erm:
 
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Underway... but that doesn't mean there are actually any F1 cars on track.

Once again, it's a rather slow start to the afternoon session, folks...

A a few minutes past the hour, Lewis Hamilton has just sprinted through the hordes of fans outside the Mercedes garage.

A race simulation or a qualy run?

The latter please, Lewis. We want more of this morning's fun.
 
A car! Thank you, Force India. People's champion. The silence is broken by Sergio Perez.
 
Perez returns to the pits.
Sadness descends upon the Circuit de Catalunya.
Tears fall in the grandstand.
Boredom sets in.
He's straight back out! What a hero.
Perez pits. Don't go breaking our hearts, Sergio.
Ah, he couldn't if he tried.
The Force India's back out again.
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Real talk. We want to see some People's Champion banners in the stand next year for testing, for Perez and Ocon. Pic: XPB
 
Perez pits again, with 49 laps to his name. A glacial way to rack up his half-century. Like settling for singles when you've hit a thronker past mid-on. (whatever that means)
This commentator has got absolutely no interest in cricket or how it works, by the way.
 
The bookmakers are certainly liking what they've seen from Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel is now up to second favourite for the Drivers' Championship behind Lewis Hamilton and ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.

Ferrari also second behind Mercedes in the Constructors' betting.
 
Has anyone told the teams this is the final afternoon of running?

Just those three laps for Sergio Perez with 25 minutes of the session gone, although we should see the cars start their expected long runs anytime soon....

We hope!
 
It's an important session for McLaren after their double breakdown in the morning, but also for Haas after Romain Grosjean's VF-17 also ground to a halt twice.

Here's a rather despondent looking Frenchman making his way back to the pits earlier.
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Maybe all the F1 teams are ready for Melbourne and don't need to do any more testing? It's a bold strategy. Let's see if it pays off for them.
 
and....
Perez is back in after that outlap on super-soft tyres. There's nothing else to say really. Oh, he's reached the pitlane exit. How fun.
 
Rachel Brookes ✔ @RachelBrookesTV
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There's a cat in the pit lane..... to be fair the sign does only say "no dogs" #skyf1
 
Thankfully Force India are a little keener to get out on track this afternoon than most - Sergio Perez is in the VJM10 again and on circuit now.

For the first time this afternoon, a car crosses the startline. Perez cracks on to a flying lap.

Perez pumps in the first time we've seen since lunch. It's a 1m24.780s. That's the fastest time we've seen since lunch.
 
We'd love to tell you some good news about McLaren. Unfortunately there isn't any and the more we hear about their problems the more worried we about their prospects for 2017.

For the time being, all we can tell you is that David Croft has been digging deep at the team this morning to try to find out exactly why the Honda engine is so unreliable.
 
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