F1 Testing, Day Two AM: Sergio Perez ahead but Mercedes cause stir
Written by News on 21/02/2020
Sergio Perez set the pace for Racing Point on the second morning of F1 Testing at Barcelona – but Mercedes still proved the talk of the paddock with a steering-wheel innovation in their new car.
Although Wednesday’s pacesetter Lewis Hamilton finished his session down in seventh place, he completed 106 laps in the space of four hours and, most intriguingly of all, was seen trialling what has been dubbed a ‘trombone’ steering wheel.
On-board footage showed examples of Hamilton pulling his W11’s steering wheel towards him as he entered straights, before moving it back as he prepared to enter corners.
With the wheel quickly piquing the interest of rivals, Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reported: “A senior source at Mercedes has confirmed that a) we’re not imagining it, the trombone steering, b) it’s something that’s on the car and not ostensibly something just for testing and c) it’s a steering mode. So, it’s another element of what the steering can do.”
Racing Point’s impressive start to pre-season continued, meanwhile, as Perez headed Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo on the morning timesheet by four tenths of a second.
Perez’s time of 1:17.347, set midway through the session on the C3 tyres, was fractionally faster than the Mexican lapped on the opening day, when he finished third.
Alexander Albon was third quickest for Red Bull after 59 laps, with Pierre Gasly recovering from an out-lap spin to take fourth in the striking AlphaTauri.
Charles Leclerc continued in the new Ferrari ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s return from illness for the afternoon session and was sixth, just ahead of Hamilton.
However, Ferrari completed fewer than half the number of laps of Mercedes.
F1 Testing Timesheet: Day Two Morning
1. Sergio Perez, Racing Point, 48 laps, 1:17.347
2. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, 41 laps, +0.402
3. Alex Albon, Red Bull, 59 laps, +0.808
4. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 76 laps, +0.818
5. George Russell, Williams, 71 laps, +0.919
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 49 laps, +0.988
7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 106 laps, +1.040
8. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 87 laps, +1.149
9. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, 65 laps, +1.161
10. Lando Norris, McLaren, 48 laps, +1.190
Watch every day of Winter Testing live on Sky Sports F1 and the Sky Sports App. The sessions run from 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm, followed by The Story So Far featuring driver interviews and the verdict on the day.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: F1 Testing, Day Two AM: Sergio Perez ahead but Mercedes cause stir
