Ricciardo breaks Barcelona lap record, McLaren halted again

Daniel Ricciardo delivered a glimpse of Red Bull's 2018 potential as he broke the lap record at the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday. The Australian stopped the watch at one minute and 18.047 seconds to set the benchmark on Pirelli's new hypersoft compound.

The Red Bull not only went quicker than anyone has ever done before on the current layout of the track, but also posted more laps than anyone else, Ricciardo racking up 165 throughout a productive day.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has recently suggested that Red Bull could leapfrog both the Silver Arrows and Ferrari to be the leading contenders in 2018.

And though the reigning champions and the Scuderia have plenty of time to respond on-track, Red Bull certainly look to be starting the season in good shape, having begun 2017 sluggishly.

The 1:18.047 is the BEST LAP at the Circuit with the current layout!!!! ???????????? #F1Testing — Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (@Circuitcat_eng) March 7, 2018

Red Bull's progress comes despite their uncertainty over the performance of the Renault engine, which is showing no signs of improving McLaren's fortunes.

Stoffel Vandoorne came to a halt three times on day one of the second test and the team once again ran into trouble with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, completing 47 laps and ducking under the one-minute-20-second barrier before an oil leak left them scrabbling for a new power unit.

Alonso only re-emerged for the final 15 minutes or so of the session, with McLaren once again failing to make good on pre-test desires to put in 100 laps per day. Alonso ended Wednesday with 57.

To make matters worse, Toro Rosso enjoyed another strong day, Brendon Hartley completing 119 laps and going fifth-quickest.

The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas joined Ricciardo in the 1min18s, the reigning champion three tenths down on ultrasoft tyres.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen shared running of the Ferrari - the Finn recovering from a cold to take over in the afternoon - as the Scuderia topped a century of laps without showing its hand in terms of top pace.