F1 Pre-Season Testing 2020: Times and Friday Analysis from Barcelona

Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets at the end of Day 3 of Formula One pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Bottas enjoyed a smooth run on Friday's session and finished top of the pile with a best lap of one minute, 15.732 seconds. Hamilton was close behind in second with a best of one minute, 16.516 seconds.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished third on Friday but was 1.370 seconds slower than the Finn, while Racing Point driver Lance Stroll came in fourth-fastest.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel had a day to forget after he suffered engine failure in the morning session. He ended the day down in 13th place, 2.652 seconds adrift.

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo finished the day in seventh, one place ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

The official Formula One Twitter account confirmed the fastest times from Friday's sessions

Friday Morning Recap

It's a testament to Bottas' early performance on Friday that his fastest time was less than half-a-second off the track record he set during qualifying for the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix, per Autosport Live:

Sky Sports F1 highlighted how he raised the bar in testing compared to last year:

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton will rejoin the fray in Friday's afternoon session, but all eyes were on the less celebrated Mercedes star early on in the last day of the first instalment of 2020 testing.

The manufacturer's new "Dual Axis Steering" (DAS) was also back in the spotlight as Bottas sprinted to the best time, but Vettel said he doubts the new, controversial innovation will guide Mercedes to victory in 2020.

The Silver Arrows debuted the new wheel with Hamilton during Thursday's morning testing session, which allows the driver to adjust the car height by pushing and pulling.

Four-time world champion Vettel told reporters in Barcelona: 

"Imagine you are used to do running and you put on your running shoes, and then someone asked you to run in flip-flops. You can also do that, but it just feels very different.

"Obviously it's not quite that extreme, but it's just that you add something that's completely new and feels probably strange and new at first, but obviously if it gives you an advantage, and an edge, then you can fulfil the task and with enough practice, then why not?

"It looks easy to push and pull the steering wheel at certain points of the track, but it's probably not as straightforward."

His Ferrari SF1000 failed to finish Friday's opening portion and encountered trouble after 40 laps:

McLaren's Carlos Sainz recorded a valuable 76 laps in the MCL35 but couldn't muster a lap time faster than one minute, 18.274 seconds.

Hamilton will face a challenge to beat Bottas' time later on Friday, though Mercedes' positive performances thus far in pre-season testing suggest the sky is the limit.  

Friday Afternoon Recap

Mercedes continued their impressive pace in the afternoon session with world champion Hamilton leaping into second place.

The 35-year-old could not quite match his team-mate's fastest lap but added 73 laps and was comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack:

Hamilton offered his thoughts on the day's testing after the session to the official Mercedes website:

"It's been a great effort from the team and great to see that the reliability is as strong as it is. The car has felt pretty good out there. It's been a solid first week and we've got some good mileage. It's a true showing of all the incredible work everyone has done back at the factory and here at the track."

The afternoon session was stopped when Ricciardo's Renault lost power at Turn 9 and had to be towed away. He did manage to resume but suffered more drama at Turn 13:

Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi ended the day with the most laps. The Italian ended the session in fifth after completing 152 laps to seal a solid week's work for his team.

Meanwhile, Haas saw their testing end early on Friday when Kevin Magnussen suffered a puncture that forced him into the gravel after just four laps. Romain Grosjean has managed 48 in the morning session, meaning the team have some catching up to do.

The official Formula One Twitter account shared highlights of Friday's testing:

The teams will return to action on Wednesday when they have three more days of testing as they prepare for the start of the new season in March.