BARCELONA — Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen produced the fastest lap so far in Formula One’s pre-season testing to push his previous team, Ferrari, off the top of the lunchtime leaderboard Wednesday.

It was the first time since testing started Monday at the Circuit de Catalunya that Ferrari had not led at the end of a session.

The Finn, returning to the Swiss-based team previously known as Sauber, lapped with a best time of one minute 17.762 seconds on the softest, and fastest, C5 tyre compound.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, his teammate last season, was second fastest in 1:18.350.

Raikkonen’s lap was also the first time a team had gone faster in 2019 than they managed in last year’s pre-season testing.

Champion Mercedes continued to keep its powder dry, with Finland’s Valtteri Bottas the slowest of the nine cars on track but doing more laps than anyone else — 88 to Vettel’s 80, both on the same medium C3 tyre.

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was third fastest in 1:18.800.

McLaren, whose performance has been encouraging over the first two days, missed the first two hours after what they described as “some overnight changes” to the car but managed to get Spaniard Carlos Sainz out for 27 laps before lunch.

Williams continued to be absent from the track but were expected to appear in the afternoon after their much-delayed car reached the track in the early hours after problems finishing building it on time.

British rookie George Russell was scheduled to drive the opening laps for the former champions who finished bottom of the constructors’ table in 2018.

“They (Ferrari) have been looking great,” Hamilton, who will be chasing his sixth title, told reporters. “For us it’s been just digging deep, trying to understand the car, Pretty much the same as the beginning of every year.

“The Ferraris always look strong, particularly in the last few years they look very strong right at the beginning so it’s to be expected.”

Ferrari won the first two races of last year with a car that seemed quicker than the Mercedes but the champions came back strongly and Hamilton ended the year with 11 wins to Vettel’s tally of five.

Last year Ferrari — which won six successive constructors’ titles between 1999 and 2004 — was fastest in testing but it was still Hamilton who put his Mercedes on pole position at the first race in Melbourne with a circuit record time.

“At the moment I don’t really hold any worry about anything,” said the 34-year-old Briton, who conceded that Ferrari did appear to have produced a better package than last season. — Reuters