Perez completes 78 laps on second day of Barcelona pre-season test

Published on 24 February 2022 by Stefan Meens

Charles Leclerc was quickest on the second day of pre-season testing. The Ferrari driver lapped the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya three tenths quicker than second placed Pierre Gasly in the Alpha Tauri. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the top three. Oracle Red Bull Racing lost some track time due to a gearbox issue, but Sergio Perez still completed 78 laps and set the seventh fastest time of the day.

Sebastian Vettel is the first driver to exit the pits when the afternoon session gets underway. It is the German’s first taste of the new cars in testing. Guanyu Zhou is in the same boat as the four-time champ as he samples the Alfa Romeo for the first time.

Meanwhile, Nikita Mazepin causes a red flag after parking his Haas in the grass. After investigating, the Russian’s mechanics find a faulty fuel pump to be the cause.

With the 2022 car regulations aimed to improve overtaking, a lot of drivers opt to run closely to others to gauge the effect of the aero changes made to the cars.

Whilst Max was the first driver to reach 100 laps yesterday, Esteban Ocon is bestowed that honor in the Alpineon Thursday, soon joined by both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as well as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. Thus far, reliability appears generally high for the 2022 spec cars.

After suffering from gearbox issues in the morning, Sergio Perez is up and running again in the afternoon, ultimately completing 78 laps. It means only Red Bull Racing and Alfa Romeo fail to break the 100 lap mark on day two of the first 2022 pre-season test.

On Friday, both Max and Perez will drive the RB18, with the Dutchman occupying the cockpit in the morning, before passing driving duties to his Mexican teammate.

Formula 1 pre-season testing - Thursday 24 Februari results:

01 Leclerc      Ferrari        1:19.689    79
02 Gasly        AlphaTauri     1:19.918   147
03 Ricciardo    McLaren        1:20.288   126
04 Russell      Mercedes       1:20.537    66
05 Sainz        Ferrari        1:20.546    71
06 Vettel       Aston Martin   1:20.784    74
07 Perez        Red Bull       1:21.430    78
08 Mazepin      Haas           1:21.512    42
09 Albon        Williams       1:21.531    47
10 Zhou         Alfa Romeo     1:21.885    71
11 Latifi       Williams       1:21.894    61
12 Stroll       Aston Martin   1:21.920    55
13 Schumacher   Haas           1:21.949    66
14 Ocon         Alpine         1:22.164   125
15 Bottas       Alfa Romeo     1:22.288    21
16 Hamilton     Mercedes       1:22.562    40