Hamilton frustrated by early Mercedes running

Lewis Hamilton's running on the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona was hampered by the weather, leaving the world champion frustrated at an inability to fully test his 2018 Mercedes challenger, as Red Bull stole a march on the timesheets and in mileage.

Hamilton was handed the afternoon session at the Circuit de Catalunya, but spots of rain led to a cagey session in which few cars spent prolonged time on-track.

The four-time champion was only sixth-fastest on Monday, more than two seconds off Ricciardo's best time.

Team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second-fastest, two tenths off Ricciardo, and managed more than double Hamilton's mileage in the clearer morning session.

Red Bull were the only team to his triple figures in laps, Ricciardo circuiting 105 times, and Hamilton cut a frustrated figure after climbing out of the car.

"It's great to be back in the car after three months off," he said. "But unfortunately we didn't get the chance to complete many laps today owing to the bad weather.

"The track was very cold in the afternoon, meaning it was tough to get any sort of heat into the tyres. The tyres weren't really working in these temperatures, so I could not get a real feel for them.

"I didn't really get the chance to push in the car and go up to top speeds as the conditions were so bad. It's hard for me to say a whole lot about the car because I did not drive it for a long time, but the initial feeling is good."