‘andrew1oakley’ regarding your concerns about the big field spread in lap time, those worries are totally understandable when looking at the timing screen and knowing that we are over halfway through the entire pre-season testing running (including Barcelona shakedown in this). But most teams stated they were not looking at performance running in this test, in terms of outright lap times, while almost all will keep their powder dry until the first race.
That could mean three things happen: The gaps get smaller as those further back turn up the wick. Or everyone turns up the wick and the gaps stay the same. Or get bigger.
It is why the best lap times need a big pinch of salt. It is just part of a much wider picture that we won’t see all of until Melbourne.
But, it is fair to expect a bigger field spread at the start of any new rules era vs the last race of the previous era.