Kimi Raikkonen fastest in morning session of preseason testing

Kimi Raikkonen drives ahead of Lewis Hamilton during a testing session in Barcelona.(Source: AP)

Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari back on top in Formula One’s preseason testing on Thursday, while McLaren struggled with reliability issues for the second straight day.

The Finnish driver led the morning session at the Circuit de Barcelona, ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Renault and Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso. Lewis Hamilton was sixth in his Mercedes after completing 99 laps, the most of any driver.

Raikkonen’s teammate Sebastian Vettel was fastest in the first two days of testing and Nico Hulkenberg led the way on Wednesday for Force India. Vettel’s time of 1 minute 22.810 seconds on Pirelli’s new ultra-soft tyres has been the fastest of the week so far.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was held to only three laps on Thursday because of an apparent water pressure issue on his McLaren. The Spanish driver was not able to set a time. Teammate Jenson Button had completed only 51 laps on Tuesday, the least among the 11 drivers who tested, because of a hydraulic leak.

McLaren was plagued by reliability problems throughout last season under a renewed partnership with engine supplier Honda, but it had showed significant signs of improvement in the first two days of testing in Barcelona.

Daniil Kvyat was fourth with Red Bull and Felipe Nasr fifth with Sauber, which is yet to debut its new car.

Indonesian rookie Rio Haryanto completed only 26 laps with Manor, seven more than Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez with newcomer Haas.

The cars will return to the track for the final time this week in the afternoon session.

Teams will test for the last time March 1-4, again in Barcelona. The first race is March 20 in Australia.