Red Bull Racing running curtailed after Gasly crash
Published on 28 February 2019 by Stefan Meens
Day seven of eight was not the most productive of the Formula 1 pre-season testing days for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Pierre Gasly managed 65 laps before crashing hard in the afternoon session. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was quickest, setting a 1:16.231 around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. George Russell (Williams) was the most productive driver, completing 140 laps.
After the customary lunch break at the midday point, the teams continue their testing with several teams opting to switch their drivers. Valtteri Bottas replaces Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Romain Grosjean drives the Haas instead of Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo takes over driving duties from Nico Hulkenberg at Renault.
As the lap times set in the morning are not bettered in the afternoon, it is clear the teams are opting to focus on long runs. Ricciardo and Bottas are the exception as both chase after competitive times on the red C5 and the yellow C3 Pirelli compounds.
An hour into the afternoon, the session is red-flagged for the first time today; Pierre Gasly has crashed his RB15. On the high-speed entrance into turn 9, the Frenchman dips a wheel out width the track, resulting in a spin into the barriers. The Red Bull racer is unharmed but the incident marks the end of his pre-season testing.
Despite a lot of damage, the track is cleared quickly and after half an hour the session resumes. The next red flag is waved an hour later; Lance Stroll’s Racing Point comes to a standstill at the exit of turn 9. Nevertheless, the Canadian enjoys a productive day with over 100 completed laps.
Ferrari are next to cause a red flag with Charles Leclerc’s SF90 grinding to a halt in a smoke screen. Regardless, the Italian outfit looks strong with the fastest lap of the day to their name and 138 laps driven.
George Russell completes the most laps of any driver. The Williams rookie laps the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 140 times. Mercedes end the day as the most productive team with Hamilton and Bottas’ combined running adding up to 182 laps.
Pre-Season Test 2 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – Thursday 28 February 2019
