Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo is finally getting a run in his promising 2022 McLaren as the second day of F1 testing is underway in Barcelona.

However his teammate Lando Norris, who went fastest on day one of testing, believes the new generation of cars feel “quite sluggish”.

After some of the most dramatic changes in F1 history the 2022 cars are 47 kgs heavier than the 2021 models, amid a focus on generating ground effect for downforce instead of complicated aerodynamic structures which disrupt airflow behind the cars.

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“The weight makes a massive difference for just the driving, how the car reacts,” Norris said.

“It’s a lot heavier than it was last season. So it just feels a bit slower, a bit more sluggish.

“It’s like running with the race fuel of last season before almost a qualifying lap in a way. You do feel it in like the braking and certain areas. The performance is not quite the same.

“But it shouldn’t be too long [to adjust] and I think by the end of the day, you’re a little bit more used to it and it feels almost normal again.”

DAY 2 LEADERBOARD (After 3hrs45m)

1. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 1m20.355s, C3 - 61 laps

2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1m20.546s, C3 - 67

3. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 1m20.764s, C3 - 56

4. Alex Albon, Williams, 1m21.531s, C3 - 43

5. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1m21.920s, C3 - 54

6. Mick Schumacher, Haas, 1m21.949s, C3 - 61

7. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m22.288s, C3 - 17

8. Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 1m22.412s, C2 - 38

9. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m22.562s, C2 - 40

10. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 1m23.280s, C2 - 63

C1 is the softest tyre, C5 is the hardest

Ricciardo, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly did not get a run on day one but will feature heavily on day two, with other constructors opting to again split their drivers across the four-hour morning and afternoon sessions.

Ricciardo made continuous improvements through the opening hour, setting a second-best time of 1:22.575 on his 12th lap, only behind Carlos Sainz (1:21.010).

Sainz’ Ferrari was one of many cars to feature bizarre-looking aero rake equipment as the teams look to measure how their new designs are performing in the real world.

Williams’ Alex Albon leapt up the leaderboard into second with a 1:21.657, ahead of Ricciardo’s best time after two hours of running for the day, in a strong statement by the returning ex-Red Bull driver.

Somewhat concerningly for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton had only done 12 laps halfway through the session.

However he did another 25 across the next hour or so, with Sains (59 laps), Haas’ Mick Schumacher (53) and Ricciardo (51) leading the way on the mileage front.

Some teams were struggling more than others with ‘porpoising’ - moving up and down at speed, according to former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer.

“Alpine are struggling with DRS, and aren’t using it as a result at the moment,” he said.

“Aston Martin are struggling with porpiosing, with the car banging and sparking off the ground. Lots of teams are struggling with a similar issue, but not to that extent.

“Mercedes look much better than yesterday, but their ‘porpoising’ isn’t fully solved - Hamilton looks like he is struggling with the car through the corners.”

With around half an hour left of the morning session, Sergio Perez forced the first red flag of testing, stopping on the exit of Turn 13 with Red Bull forced to scramble to recover his stranded car.

Once running resumed 15 minutes later Ricciardo went fastest overall with a 1:20.355.

WHO IS DRIVING ON DAY 2?

Red Bull: Sergio Perez

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton morning session, George Russell afternoon session

Ferrari: Carlos Sainz morning, Charles Leclerc afternoon

McLaren: Daniel Ricciardo

Alpine: Esteban Ocon

AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly

Aston Martin: Lance Stroll morning, Sebastian Vettel afternoon

Williams: Alex Albon morning, Nicholas Latifi afternoon

Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas morning, Guanyu Zhou afternoon

Haas: Mick Schumacher morning, Nikita Mazepin afternoon

In the first outing for the heavily redesigned cars on Wednesday, Norris recorded a time of 1:19.568 in the afternoon session, eclipsing the morning’s fastest time of 1:20.165 set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton drove only 50 laps while Verstappen totalled 147, the most of any driver, and his best time of 1:22.246 left him ninth.

Barcelona is hosting a three-day shakedown test before another three-day test in Bahrain early next month, a week before the season begins at the Middle East circuit on March 18-20.

Given the early stage of testing getting laps on the board is more important than the actual times being set, putting Alfa Romeo - who completed just 32 laps between test driver Robert Kubica and ex-Mercedes man Valtteri Bottas - and Haas (43 laps) well behind.

DAY 1 LEADERBOARD

1. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 1min 19.568sec (101 laps)

2. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:20.165 (80)

3. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) 1:20.416 (73)

4. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:20.784 (77)

5. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:20.929 (50)

6. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin) 1:21.276 (52)

7. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri) 1:21.638 (121)

8. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine) 1:21.746 (127)

9. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:22.246 (147)

10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 1:22.572 (23)

11. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams) 1:22.760 (66)

12. Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas) 1:22.926 (23)

13. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) 1:23.327 (67)

14. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams) 1:23.379 (66)

15. Nikita Mazepin (RAF/Haas) 1:24.505 (20)

16. Robert Kubica (POL/Alfa Romeo) 1:25.909 (9)

Note: Kubica is a reserve driver