Snowy conditions washout F1 testing

The third day of the 2018 Formula 1 pre-season testing was effectively washed out by snow and rain as a total of 17 laps were completed by all F1 teams with no competitive times set.

Teams were left frustrated by cold conditions on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning that made running troublesome, but worse was to come as snow fell through the night and began to lay at the track.

The heavy snow at Circuit de Catalunya continued into the morning which initially delayed track action due to unsafe conditions for the medical helicopter. After three hours of no running the track was declared green with the snow relenting.

But due to the wet and very cold conditions none of the F1 teams opted for extensive running with large sections of the circuit with standing water and track temperatures close to freezing all day.

Five teams did venture out to test conditions with Fernando Alonso the first to take to the track for McLaren at 1.10pm – over four hours after the scheduled start.

Daniel Ricciardo was the next on track for Red Bull but on his second installation lap he slipped off in the first sector but managed to return to the pits with minimal damage which signalled the end of his running for the day.

Toro Rosso Honda’s Brendon Hartley also notched up two installation laps to take the joint-highest number of laps with Ricciardo. Marcus Ericsson for Alfa Romeo Sauber and Robert Kubica for Williams also made fleeting appearances with single install laps.

Alonso gave a brief show for his home fans in the final hour of track action with conditions at their best and produced two timed laps of the day with a best lap of 2m 18.545s – just under one minute off of the top times from yesterday’s test.