Discover the analysis of the first winter tests carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2155 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) does not seem to have needed to stretch his talent to take the best time of the week. After replacing his teammate Valtteri Bottas, the four-time world champion completed a lap in 1'19''333 on the medium tires, beating by more than three tenths the performance of Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) achieved during the second day.

Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) had set a lap time of 1:18 at the same time last year at the wheel of the SF634H, but the conditions were different.

The gap with the rest of the peloton is significant since Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) was the closest with half a second behind. The Belgian was however shod with super soft tyres. The 2015 GP2 Series champion remains one of the most productive of the day with 110 laps covered.

Only two other competitors reached the 100 loop mark this Thursday. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) completed 120 laps, setting the third fastest time of the day, around half a second behind his performance on Tuesday, while Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) was the most diligent with 147 laps covered. The Frenchman completed the top ten.

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren) completed the Top 5 after putting on the super soft tires. They are ahead of the Renault RS 18 of Carlos Sainz Jr who performed his best performance with whitewall tires. Only Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) did the same with his teammate Hamilton. Although the Finn is only 12th, he was one of the fastest of the morning.

Lance Stroll (Williams) finished seventh after replacing Sergey Sirotkin, last in the standings and the only driver to have achieved his best performance on grooved (intermediate) tires. The Canadian is ahead of the Force India VJM11 of Sergio Pérez.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had a difficult day. If his ninth time probably does not reflect the potential of the RB14, the Dutchman was the most discreet on the track with only 35 laps covered. His program was notably interrupted by an exit from the track in the afternoon.

Nico Hülkenberg (Renault) finished 11th in the rankings on the fourth day after handing over his wheel to Carlos Sainz Jr in the afternoon.

Sauber drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson are only ahead of Sergey Sirotkin. The Monegasque was able to improve his Swedish teammate's time by one second, but the rookie benefited from better conditions in the second part of the day.

Barcelona Winter Test Results – Day 4

1. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes 1'19''333 – 69 laps 2. Stoffel Vandoorne – McLaren + 0''521 – 110 laps 3. Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari + 0''906 – 120 laps 4. Kevin Magnussen – Haas + 0”984 – 96 laps 5. Fernando Alonso – McLaren + 1”596 – 51 laps 6. Carlos Sainz Jr – Renault + 1”607 – 60 laps 7. Lance Stroll – Williams + 1”809 – 54 laps 8. Sergio Pérez – Force India + 2”640 – 65 laps 9. Max Verstappen – Red Bull + 2”725 – 35 laps 10. Pierre Gasly – Toro Rosso + 2”801 – 147 laps 11. Nico Hülkenberg – Renault + 3''174 – 49 laps 12. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes + 3''456 – 60 laps 13. Charles Leclerc – Sauber + 3''475 – 59 laps 14. Marcus Ericsson – Sauber + 4''482 – 79 laps 15. Sergey Sirotkin – Williams + 12”646 – 47 laps