Leclerc puts Ferrari in charge on Day 2 in Barcelona

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Charles Leclerc led the field in Thursday's second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, the Ferrari driver edging AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly in the afternoon session.

Leclerc vaulted to the top of the timesheet with a 1m19.689s on the C3 tyre , overhauling the morning pacesetter, McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo, and becoming the first driver to dip into the 1m19s.

But Gasly, who topped the day's individual mileage with 147 laps, also broke the 1m20 barrier with the help of a fresh set of C4 soft tyres, while Ricciardo concluded his day a strong third, confirming the strength of McLaren's MCL36.

Barcelona Pre-Season Test - Day 2

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Tyre	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1m19.689s	C3	79
2	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1m19.918s	C4	147
3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1m20.288s	C4	126
4	George Russell	Mercedes	1m20.537s	C3	66
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1m20.546s	C3	71
6	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1m20.784s	C3	74
7	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull	1m21.430s	C2	78
8	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	1m21.512s	C3	42
9	Alexander Albon	Williams	1m21.531s	C3	47
10	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	1m21.885s	C3	71
11	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1m21.894s	C3	61
12	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1m21.920s	C2	55
13	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1m21.949s	C3	66
14	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1m22.164s	C3	125
15	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m22.288s	C3	21
16	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m22.562s	C2	40

George Russell, who took over from Lewis Hamilton, propelled Mercedes back up the order to finish fourth quickest, just ahead of morning runner Carlos Sainz.

Among those who took to the track in the afternoon, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel clocked in fifth, while Nikita Mazepin pulled Haas up to P8 despite suffering a damaged fuel pump earlier in the day that caused a red flag and the second stoppage of the week.

Over at Alfa Romeo, the Swiss outfit finally enjoyed a trouble-free session and a productive day that will have boosted the team's morale after its early troubles.

F1 rookie Guanyu Zhou rounded off the top-ten with 71 laps under his belt, just ahead of Williams' Nicholas Latifi in P11.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon, taking his first turn at the wheel of the French outfit's A522, ran consistently all day but only managed the 14^th fastest time, while morning runners and former Mercedes teammates Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton unusually brought up the rear.

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Michael Delaney