BARCELONA, Spain – In an ironic twist to Wednesday’s Formula One testing session at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, former Ferrari development driver Daniil Kvyat was the one to end Ferrari’s reign atop the time sheets.
Kvyat took his STR14-Honda to the top of the board with 15 minutes to go, posting a best lap of 1:17.704 around the 4.655-kilometer, 16-turn circuit and leading the 13 drivers who took time during the day.
Wednesday marked the first of the three completed days of testing in which a Ferrari driver did not end the afternoon on top, after Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc split the first two days between one another.
Kvyat ran 137 laps during the day, second only to Kimi Raikkonen’s 138 laps turned for Alfa Romeo.
“We lacked some running on day one, so we definitely bounced back today,” said Kvyat. “It was important for us to do as many laps as possible and complete the program. We managed to do so and we even managed to squeeze in some extra kilometers, which made it a very productive day. The guys in the garage should be happy with the job they’ve done. Now, we just need to continue this high level of work to get as much mileage as possible and gain confidence together.
“I’m comfortable with the car and every time I’m on track I have a better feeling of what the car will do, which is nice,” Kvyat continued. “As a team we always want to do more, so if we had the chance to do 200 laps I would take it, even if my neck probably wouldn’t enjoy it. Now it’s important to go on working hard, without getting caught up with where we finished on the time sheets. … We need to keep focusing on the job we’re doing with the car and make sure we’re heading in the right direction.
“We’re still in early days, but a good start is always welcomed.”
Raikkonen ended up second overall, just .058 of a second adrift of Kvyat, followed by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel among the top four. All four drivers were within one second of one another.
Max Verstappen ended the day fifth for Red Bull Racing, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Pietro Fittipaldi, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.
Three red flags slowed the pace on Wednesday, with all three involving the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team. Both Grosjean and Fittipaldi battled ignition coil issues during the day, but still landed inside the top 10.
