Nico Hulkenberg had the aero rakes on his Renault this morning but they've been removed now.

Shackles off, Hulkenberg goes third quickest with 1:19.816 on softs.Meanwhile, Stoffel Vandoorne is still on track. No improvements in time but he's up to 32 laps for the morning.

Christopher Clee: I hope @McLarenF1, external get their act together this season. Who do you think is set for a significant season? My money would be on @RenaultSportF1, external

Euan: So the Mclaren is matching the times set by the top teams albeit on the hypersofts. Er, positivity?!

Robert Kubica, currently P9, posts a personal best with 1:20.837. He's got softs on the Williams.

Kubica only managed 48 laps across the whole of the first week of testing, so he'll be keen to get as much time on the track as possible and provide some experienced feedback to the team.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

While McLaren have struggled with reliability so far in testing, the Toro Rosso has generally been running like clockwork, bar a handful of minor issues like a spin for Brendon Hartley on Wednesday and a sensor failure causing the car to stop at the end of the pit lane.

This is ironic considering the problems their new engine supplier Honda had with McLaren over the last three years, but it’s all wine and roses between the new partners so far.

“They’ve brought a couple of updates again,” Hartley said. “They’ve been working hard and so far we’ve had zero reliability issues and it’s been really smooth sailing from the Honda point of view, so that’s been really positive.”

Had he been surprised? No, he said. “I had high expectations before I arrived and it definitely delivered.” And performance? “We’re battling in the midfield there somewhere but we’re definitely in the fight.”

Perhaps it’s all about expectations. Toro Rosso’s are under control, and they are positive things are going well. McLaren’s are high.

Sebastian Vettel creeps closer to Stoffel Vandoorne's time as he imrpoves with a 1:19.828. He's a second slower than Vandoorne but his time has come on the harder softs whereas Vandoorne's was on the hypersofts.

Image source, F1.com

Vandoorne - hypersoft

Bottas - supersoft

Hulkenberg - medium

The rest - soft

Just over an hour in so let's get a full rundown of the latest times...

Problems? What problems! Stoffel Vandoorne with a 1:18.855 to strengthen his place at the top.

Image source, F1.com

Niki Lauda and Pascal Wehrlein watching the early morning action.

Can't imagine it's particularly pleasant for Wehrlein watching the Sauber do its thing out there.

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We're up to nine times on the board now with only Marcus Ericsson yet to complete a timed lap.

Valtteri Bottas hasn't been out for a little while and his time is barely worth registering, having clocked 1:56.167 on the ultrasofts.

LSJ: I’m going to try Kayleigh’s thinking thing as well Gary. Mclaren is running hypersofts. On FULL tanks of fuel. They’re going to OBLITERATE the field! Or just obliterate? No. Wait... Positive thinking #TheyMaySayImADreamer, external#ButImNotTheOnlyOne, external#Imagine, external

Stoffel Vandoorne lowers the benchmark again with a 1:19.088. He's also up to 16 laps for the morning, more than any other driver.

Plot twist - McLaren to win the title this year...?

Dan Knutson
F1 journalist in Barcelona

Image source, Getty Images

While Red Bull and McLaren grabbed the headlines yesterday, rookie Charles Leclerc was quietly getting on with the business of preparing for his first F1 season. He has one more day in the Sauber tomorrow. Does he feel he is ready for his first grand prix?

“Yes, I feel ready – 160 laps (during the two test sessions) is quite a lot, and it was good for me to have that mileage in the car,” he told reporters last night.

Still, there is nothing like the real thing.

“Overtaking is something I will discover in Melbourne, because obviously in testing you don’t do any,” he said. “I have had a chance to stay behind some cars here, and you see that you lose downforce. It is quite a lot in F1, but these things I will experience a lot more in Melbourne, and it will be quite new. But apart from that, I feel very ready.”

Another improvement from Stoffel Vandoorne as he knocks a tenth off his previous best, making 1:19.358 the early benchmark.

A couple more times on the board as Sebastian Vettel, on softs, goes seocnd quickest with 1:20.216.

Kevin Magnusen does a 1:21.196 on softs to go P3 while Max Verstappen's first time of the day is a 1:22.774. He's got the medium tyres bolted on.

A tiny bit cooler today with a few clouds in the sky.

Stoffel Vandoorne improves, this time positing a 1:19.494 and that's McLaren's best time in testing so far.

Today is going to be a good day.