Summary

  • Ricciardo finishes fastest

  • McLaren brings out first red flag of session

  • Alonso returned to track just before lunch

  • First pre-season test ahead of 2018 season

  • Sum up something in F1 with a GIF #bbcf1

  1. Get involved #bbcf1published at 13:02 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Your team. Your name. Your colours

    Keep your F1 team names and what your team's cars would look like coming.

    The below would be ideal if Pastor Maldonado ever fancied a return to F1...

    .Image source, Renault
    Image caption,

    Too perfect

  2. Postpublished at 12:58 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    One of the fascinating aspects of the car launches last week was that Mercedes have stuck with their design philosophy of last year and are pretty much unique in having a car with a long-wheelbase and low rake (angle from front to rear).

    Last year, this gave them superb aerodynamic efficiency - and therefore stunning performance at high-speed tracks - but a restricted set-up window and relatively poor performance on low-speed, low-grip circuits such as Monaco and Singapore. It also took them a long time to understand how the car worked, technical director James Allison poetically describing its messages in the early part of last season as “a siren path that definitely dragged you on to the rocks. We had to ignore a lot of what we thought were the standard ways of race-engineering a car and go off in pretty much the opposite direction.”

    Allison described the long wheelbase as “an asset” and said keeping it was “a no-brainer”. Mercedes hope to have combined its plus-points with removing its negatives.

  3. Postpublished at 12:50 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

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  4. Postpublished at 12:46 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    And if you missed it earlier, here is the moment Fernando Alonso spun off the track and lost a wheel.

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  5. Postpublished at 12:42 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Fancy making a prediction for how many laps they will finish the day on?

    Send in your suggestions to #bbcf1

  6. Get involvedpublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    #bbcf1 or text in on 81111 (UK only)

    DJ: McLaren need at least 50 laps in the afternoon session. There's a lot of good will for them (and Fernando) & they have to show something for it.

  7. Busy start in Barcelonapublished at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

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  8. What happened this morning?published at 12:28 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    If you've just popped in during your lunch break to see what's been happening, here's a summary:

    • Fernando Alonso and McLaren had a bad start to pre-season testing when the Spaniard had a spin when he lost a wheel just six laps into his running.
    • The Spaniard returned to the circuit just before lunch.
    • Daniel Ricciardo finished fastest with a 1:20.179 set on mediums
    • Nico Hulkenberg completed the most laps of anyone with 73
  9. Postpublished at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    It was a very good morning for Nico Hulkenberg and Renault as they finished with the most laps of anyone.

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  10. Get involvedpublished at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    #bbcf1 or text in on 81111 (UK only)

    Kayleigh: Pretty solid first half of testing. Hoping for a good run from Alonso when he comes back from his dindins!

  11. Latest lapspublished at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    1) Hulkenberg 72

    2) Hartley 72

    3) Riccairdo, Raikkonen 60

    4) Bottas 58

    5) Stroll 46

    6) Ericsson 41

    7) Grosjean 32

    8) Mazepin 22

    9) Alonso 10

  12. Morning session timespublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    1) Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:20.179 Medium

    2) Bottas (Mercedes) 1:20.349 Medium

    3) Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:20.506 Soft

    4) Hulkenberg (Renault) 1:20.547 Medium

    5) Hartley (Toro Rosso) 1:22.371 Soft

    6) Stroll (Williams) 1:22.452 Soft

    7) Grosjean (Haas) 1:23.092 Medium

    8) Alonso (McLaren) 1:24.202 Super soft

    9) Ericsson (Sauber) 1:24.897 Medium

    10) Mazepin (Force India) 1:25.628 Medium

  13. chequered flag

    Chequered flagpublished at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Sound the lunch klaxon!

    That's it for the morning session. Full times and lap counts to follow.

  14. A good morning for Toro Rossopublished at 12:09 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

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  15. Postpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Just a couple of minutes before lunch and Fernando Alonso heads back out to see what he can do in that time. He's onto nine laps for the morning.

  16. Postpublished at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Daniel Ricciardo sneaks in a quick lap before the break and goes quickest of all with 1:20.179.

  17. Postpublished at 12:03 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

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  18. Postpublished at 12:01 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    .Image source, .

    Fernando Alonso takes it steady before heading back to base for a quick check over.

    Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas is back in P1 as he does a 1:20.349 on the medium compound, putting him two tenths clear of Kimi Raikkonen.

  19. Guess who's back?published at 11:59 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    We've got six drivers on track as lunch approaches INCLUDING Fernando Alonso.

  20. Put the sarnies awaypublished at 11:58 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February 2018

    Woah, woah, woah! Put your sandwiches back in the Tupperware box because it's not eating time just yet.

    The morning session has been extended by 10 minutes because of the delayed start to the day.