Charles Leclerc's morning best remained unbeaten during Tuesday afternoon's session at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The Ferrari charger concluded his day with 157 laps under his belt and 0.286s clear of McLaren's Lando Norris and almost one second faster than Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
Pre-season test Day 2 - Afternoon session
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:18.247 | 157 |
| 2 | Norris | McLaren | 1:18.553 | 104 |
| 3 | Magnussen | Haas | 1:19.206 | 59 |
| 4 | Albon | Toro Rosso | 1:19.301 | 132 |
| 5 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:19.312 | 101 |
| 6 | Bottas | Mercedes | 1:19.535 | 89 |
| 7 | Gasly | Red Bull | 1:19.814 | 92 |
| 8 | Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:19.837 | 95 |
| 9 | Ricciardo | Renault | 1:19.886 | 28 |
| 10 | Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:19.928 | 74 |
| 11 | Stroll | Racing Point | 1:20.433 | 79 |
| 12 | Fittipaldi | Haas | 1:21.849 | 13 |
Perfect conditions prevailed once again after the lunch break when Leclerc powered off with a set of Pirelli's second hardest tyres bolted to his SF90 which prefigured lengthy afternoon runs for the Monegasque.
Mercedes and Renault continued their half-day rotations with Valtteri Bottas taking over from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg replacing Daniel Ricciardo.
The Finn immediately got down to work, racking up 25 laps in the first hour of the session and running at a similar pace to his team mate, suggesting that the Silver Arrows pair were diligently fulfilling their respective programme targets.
Mercedes and Ferrari both put their lap tally past the 100 mark, but McLaren and Red Bull weren't far behind as Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly solidly put in the miles.
Toro Rosso's Alex Albon was also predictably hard at work, completing more than a race distance as the rookie played catch up and continued to build his confidence after a couple of spins earlier in the day.
Two hours into the afternoon, Haas' Kevin Magnussen improved on his personal best, consolidating his runner-up position behind leader Leclerc with a lap in 1m19.206.
However, It was also the end of the Dane's day at the office as a seat fitting issue with the VF-19 forced a change of schedule, with Haas reserve Pietro Fittipaldi entrusted with capping off the US outfit's Tuesday session.
The Red Bull camp was put on notice when Pierre Gasly, on a fast lap, clipped a kerb and lost it around Turn 11-12 and spun across the gravel and into the tyre barrier, bringing out a red flag.
Damage appeared relatively superficial as the RB15 was loaded onto a flat-bed and brought back to the Red Bull garage. However it was still a setback to hit the Milton Keynes outfit.
Meanwhile, Bottas upped the pace, laying down a 1m19.616 on the C3 tyre that registered as the Finn's personal best and the fifth fastest lap of the day.
But the Mercedes driver was overhauled soon after by Albon, a man on the move late in the day as he made good use of Pirelli's C4 rubber, or the equivalent of the super soft tyre.
There was a frenzy of improvements in the closing stages of the sessions and McLaren's Norris emulated team mate Carlos Sainz's performance from yesterday by snatching P2 from Magnussen, thanks in part to a set of C4 tyres, but confirming the efficiency of the MCL34.
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