Motor racing-Leclerc puts Ferrari top of F1 testing timesheets

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Charles Leclerc put Ferrari top of the timesheets on the second day of Formula One pre-season testing in Barcelona on Thursday.

The Monegasque set a time of one minute 19.689 seconds in the post-lunch session having taken over from team mate Carlos Sainz who was in the Maranello-based team's car in the morning.

He led Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who was second for AlphaTauri with Daniel Ricciardo third for McLaren.

The Australian, getting his first testing run in the car, was fastest going into the lunch break, continuing the strong start to the team's programme made by team mate Lando Norris who set the pace on Wednesday.

Ferrari again topped the mileage charts with Leclerc and team mate Carlos Sainz, who was fifth, clocking a total of 150 laps.

Like McLaren, the Italian team, who are hoping to end a two-year victory drought this season, have also made a promising start to their 2022 campaign, with Leclerc and Sainz having gone second and third behind Norris on Wednesday.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, who drove for Mercedes in the morning, propped up the timesheets. But his new team mate George Russell, who took over after lunch, put the constructors' champions fourth overall.

World champion Max Verstappen, who clocked the highest individual lap count on Wednesday, handed over to team mate Sergio Perez.

But the Mexican's running wasn't as trouble-free as he ground to a halt with a gearbox issue in the morning session, causing the first red flag stoppage of the year.

The 32-year-old did make it back out to end the day with 78 laps and the seventh-fastest time.

Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin bounced back from a difficult opening day to log a combined 108 laps for U.S.-owned Haas.

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