Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas clocked the quickest time at the halfway stage of the second day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Exceptionally cold temperatures, following light overnight snow, limited running during the early stages, prompting the decision to run through the planned lunch break.
Air temperature remained below freezing early on, with the circuit temperature little warmer, as unseasonably chilly weather impacted the area.
Only Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. and Bottas recorded a time, albeit off the usual pace, during the opening couple of hours, as most teams stuck to installation laps.
Track activity gradually increased as conditions improved and Bottas used Soft tyres to post a time of 1:20.270.
Bottas’ time was 0.055s clear of McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, whose quickest lap came on Pirelli’s new-for-2018 Hypersoft compound, while Sebastian Vettel was third.
Pierre Gasly built on the initial promise displayed on Monday by Toro Rosso-Honda team-mate Brendon Hartley as he finished fourth, completing 44 laps, fewer than only Bottas and Sergey Sirotkin.
The Russian rookie was next up, in front of Sainz Jr., Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Sauber youngster Charles Leclerc.
Having led the way both on times and miles on Monday, Red Bull encountered a setback when its RB14 was struck by a minor fuel leak.
The problem was enough to compromise Max Verstappen’s programme, as he did not appear for several hours, following his initial installation lap.
Verstappen finished the opening half of running in ninth, with 11 laps to his name, fewer than only Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
