Mercedes pick up the pace to go 0.003 behind Ferrari
Red flags as Kimi Raikkonen stops at Turn 8, Vettel grinds to a halt earlier in the session, and Magnussen stops on track
Vettel quickest with a 1:16.221
We've got an hour and a half left on the clock for the final session of testing. The teams are starting to pack away, but some of the drivers are still out there.
Sebastian Vettel has done 110 laps, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz have done 109 and 108 respectively, and Kimi Raikkonen has just reached 100.
Image source, Getty ImagesTatiana Calderón is back with the Alfa Romeo team as a test driver this year. She made her debut Formula 1 drive last year in Mexico City, and will be continuing with them for 2019.
She says: "I’m extremely happy to continue as Test Driver for Alfa Romeo Racing this year, they’ve done a fantastic job from one year to the other and it’s always a privilege to work alongside such experienced people. They gave me my first opportunity to drive a Formula One car and I love being part of the team."
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Chris Medland
F1 journalist in Barcelona
The teams might be trying to cram in as much running as possible before the chequered flag falls at 1800 local time, but the pack-up has been going on for a while. Red Bull used their full pit wall for race simulations over the past two days, but once Gasly crashed it was no longer needed so the team dismantled it to put in a truck that headed back to Milton Keynes last night.
That actually led the team to get questions about whether they would be continuing testing at all after the crash, but it was all planned movement of parts. The pit wall and gantry will be installed back at the factory in time for practice next week, before personnel start flying out to Australia.
Two weeks is the normal gap between races but Australia is the longest trip from the European bases, so there are forklifts whizzing around the paddock as teams get ready to move everything by road back to their factories or by air to Melbourne.
Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez are the only drivers out on the track at the moment, the rest have been back the the garage for some time now.
Image source, Getty ImagesGil's watching
Image source, ReutersWe're back.
Primoz Roglic of team Jumbo-Visma won today's stage of the Tour of the UAE and he's still leading the general classification.
Meanwhile, there's some great things going on in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.
(If you're confused, see 11:22).
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The Ferrari coasted to a stop at Turn two.
And it's not with Max and Jos like this picture suggests.
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Image source, Getty ImagesMattia Binotto - Ferrari's new team principal - looks thrilled at the distinct impression his cars are the fastest-looking out there.
Then again, we were all saying Mercedes were half a second ahead this time last year.
And they weren't in Australia...
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Vettel (Ferrari) 1:16.221 (91)
Bottas (Mercedes) 1:16.561 (71)
Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:16.898 (63)
Sainz (McLaren) 1:16.913 (63 laps)
Grosjean (Haas) 1:17.076 (73)
Ricciardo (Renault) 1:17.114 (52)
Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1:17.239 (63)
Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:17.709 (29)
Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:17.740 (17)
Perez (Racing Point) 1:17.791 (59)
Magnussen (Haas) 1:17.947 (13)
Kubica (Williams) 1:18.993 (69)
Hulkenberg (Renault) 1:23.585 (5)
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Gareth: I’m wondering how much pace Mercedes are holding back in testing thus far
Scoiny Cannon: Mercedes-AMG will show the beast this afternoon
Rob JFH: Big question: If Hamilton is right and Ferrari are a good chunk ahead, will they allow a race like Bahrain 2014 to happen between Vettel and Leclerc, or will it be team orders all season long?
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And he pumps in a terrible 1:18.415 lap time. Even the sport's greatest need to warm up...
Still ahead of Kubica's Williams, mind.
Looks great though...
Image source, Getty ImagesOur five-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is out on the circuit.
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Don't go to the pub, yet. There's four more hours of F1 testing for us to work out how F1 in 2019 is going to unfold.
We're excited - are you?
Image source, Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton, speaking in a press conference says: “I have the confidence I have the team to do the job. This is going to be the toughest battle yet. Ferrari, their pace is very good at the moment.
"Last year they arrived with a car working well but they have done even better this year. It’s OK. We don’t mind the challenge, it just means we have to work harder. I’m not worried or disappointed or anything. We have a hill to climb but we know how to do it.”
“I think the gap [to Ferrari] is potentially half a second, something like that. We will be analysing a lot from this test.
"Hopefully from this week we will gain another 0.1secs from our understanding of the car. But we don't know because everyone has different engine modes and fuel loads. Melbourne will be the first time we get a sight of it and then it will be four races before we really know where we stand."
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