The teams had barely left before they arrived back at the Circuit de Catalunya for the third and final winter test of 2013.
The test provides teams with their last chance to fine tune updates and gather that all important data, before embarking on the long flight to Melbourne for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.
However it was a far from straightforward day back in the office, with heavy rain and tricky conditions giving drivers far from ideal conditions, similar conditions to the final day of running at the second test.
So who was driving in the car for the first day of test three? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
It was Mark Webber who ended the day on top, the Red Bull RB9 looking strong in both the wet and dry conditions. Despite heavy rain showers, the circuit dried out for the final few hours of the day. This was where the times really began to tumble, with Webber coming up trumps with a best time of 1m22.693.
Despite the rain, Webber also managed to get a healthy 90 laps of running in on a range of Pirelli tyre compounds, his best lap being set on the Soft rubber. Lewis Hamilton had topped the time sheets in the morning, on the Intermediate tyres, but slipped to second. His best time was set on the Medium rubber, 1.7 seconds slower than the Aussie out front.
Productivity was still high at the Barcelona track, Hamilton managing to complete over 100 laps of running. Teams took advantage of the dry spell at the end, but also gathered useful wet weather information should conditions be similar in Australia, which they sometimes are.
Jean-Eric Vergne ended the day third fastest, also set on the Medium Pirelli rubber. He was a further six tenths back and completed 59 laps, one of the lower lap counts. Valtteri Bottas was next up, showing strong form in the Williams and looking at home throughout the test, hard to imagine he goes in to this season as a rookie. His best time was set on the Super Soft, completing 85 laps overall.
Sergio Perez could not get close to his time set at the second test, the fastest of the four days, and ended up an eventual 3.8 seconds off Webber out front. He completed 100 laps, his best time also on the Super Soft compound. Esteban Gutierrez continued to rack up the miles in the Sauber C32, finishing just a few shy of the 100 mark. He was also 3.8 seconds down on Webber, but some drivers found the right moment on track whilst others concentrated on other things. He created the second of three red flags when he spun at turn three.
Of course, times are not everything. After the big news of Sutil's return to Force India, Paul Di Resta drove the VJM06. A total of 57 laps completed meant it was not the most productive of days, but it was more useful running for the Scot. For the first time in 2013, he will hand the car over to his new team-mate Adrian Sutil for Friday's session.
Felipe Massa drove the red Ferrari F138 to a red flag during the afternoon session, his car grounding to a halt during a race simulation. This came with 25 minutes of the session remaining, not hugely impacting the day. The Brazilian had already completed 112 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, his best time of 1m27.541 being set on the Medium Pirelli tyres.
Max Chilton and Charles Pic rounded out the top 10. Razia was originally scheduled to drive the car, but with increasing doubts over his future at the team (due to money trouble), Chilton took the chance to make it five days of driving the car at the Barcelona circuit, in five sessions. He completed 78 laps, five less than rival Pic in the Caterham. The team had planned to do a race simulation but rain stopped play, switching concentration to qualifying runs.
Romain Grosjean was the slowest driver of the day, the Frenchman had an early spin on the wet track. He only managed 52 laps on the wet to dry circuit, less than most of his key rivals.
Rain is expected for the second day of testing, a variable that the teams did not want to have. Webber on top again, but will it be the same in two weeks time? Only time will tell!
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
However it was a far from straightforward day back in the office, with heavy rain and tricky conditions giving drivers far from ideal conditions, similar conditions to the final day of running at the second test.
So who was driving in the car for the first day of test three? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
It was Mark Webber who ended the day on top, the Red Bull RB9 looking strong in both the wet and dry conditions. Despite heavy rain showers, the circuit dried out for the final few hours of the day. This was where the times really began to tumble, with Webber coming up trumps with a best time of 1m22.693.
Despite the rain, Webber also managed to get a healthy 90 laps of running in on a range of Pirelli tyre compounds, his best lap being set on the Soft rubber. Lewis Hamilton had topped the time sheets in the morning, on the Intermediate tyres, but slipped to second. His best time was set on the Medium rubber, 1.7 seconds slower than the Aussie out front.
Productivity was still high at the Barcelona track, Hamilton managing to complete over 100 laps of running. Teams took advantage of the dry spell at the end, but also gathered useful wet weather information should conditions be similar in Australia, which they sometimes are.
Jean-Eric Vergne ended the day third fastest, also set on the Medium Pirelli rubber. He was a further six tenths back and completed 59 laps, one of the lower lap counts. Valtteri Bottas was next up, showing strong form in the Williams and looking at home throughout the test, hard to imagine he goes in to this season as a rookie. His best time was set on the Super Soft, completing 85 laps overall.
Sergio Perez could not get close to his time set at the second test, the fastest of the four days, and ended up an eventual 3.8 seconds off Webber out front. He completed 100 laps, his best time also on the Super Soft compound. Esteban Gutierrez continued to rack up the miles in the Sauber C32, finishing just a few shy of the 100 mark. He was also 3.8 seconds down on Webber, but some drivers found the right moment on track whilst others concentrated on other things. He created the second of three red flags when he spun at turn three.
Of course, times are not everything. After the big news of Sutil's return to Force India, Paul Di Resta drove the VJM06. A total of 57 laps completed meant it was not the most productive of days, but it was more useful running for the Scot. For the first time in 2013, he will hand the car over to his new team-mate Adrian Sutil for Friday's session.
Felipe Massa drove the red Ferrari F138 to a red flag during the afternoon session, his car grounding to a halt during a race simulation. This came with 25 minutes of the session remaining, not hugely impacting the day. The Brazilian had already completed 112 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, his best time of 1m27.541 being set on the Medium Pirelli tyres.Max Chilton and Charles Pic rounded out the top 10. Razia was originally scheduled to drive the car, but with increasing doubts over his future at the team (due to money trouble), Chilton took the chance to make it five days of driving the car at the Barcelona circuit, in five sessions. He completed 78 laps, five less than rival Pic in the Caterham. The team had planned to do a race simulation but rain stopped play, switching concentration to qualifying runs.
Romain Grosjean was the slowest driver of the day, the Frenchman had an early spin on the wet track. He only managed 52 laps on the wet to dry circuit, less than most of his key rivals.
Rain is expected for the second day of testing, a variable that the teams did not want to have. Webber on top again, but will it be the same in two weeks time? Only time will tell!
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