By Adam Tate, Associate Editor
Kimi Raikkonen topped today’s damp running from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the fourth and final day of the first pre-season test. The Finn ran a 1:20.872 on a drying track to top his Red Bull nemesis Max Verstappen by nearly a second on the time sheets.
Raikkonen also ran 93 laps on the day, behind only Grosjean who racked up 188 laps in the Haas powered Ferrari.
Pirelli brought in trucks which dumped water on the circuit before the first session. Early on all the teams tried the new full wet tire compounds which seemed to get the job done. As the track dried they switched out for intermediates which according to several drivers, still leave much to be desired in terms of both grip and degradation. The quickest times, like Raikkonen’s were set in the afternoon once the track had dried.
The only notable incident was an electrical glitch for Mercedes that kept Lewis Hamilton off the track for the day. Valtteri Bottas took over in the afternoon and was able to log 68 laps.
Ferrari junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi ran a solid 84 laps for Sauber in place of the injured Pascal Wehrlein who is expected to return next week.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Times | Laps | Tires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:20.872 | 93 | S |
| 2 | Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:21.769 | 85 | S |
| 3 | Palmer | Renault | 1:21.778 | 39 | S |
| 4 | Grosjean | Haas | 1:22.309 | 118 | SS |
| 5 | Giovinazzi | Sauber | 1:22.401 | 84 | US |
| 6 | Pérez | Force India | 1:22.534 | 82 | SS |
| 7 | Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:22.576 | 67 | US |
| 8 | Bottas | Mercedes | 1:23.443 | 68 | S |
| 9 | Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:24.974 | 51 | S |
| 10 | Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1 |
