Barcelona Testing 2 – Day 3: Hamilton Stands Out

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest today in Barcelona, nearly 8 tenths ahead of his closest competitor, Felipe Massa. However, it is premature to say that this is the actual gap between the different cars. Behind these two men are Adrian Sutil, Pastor Maldonado, and Valtteri Bottas in 5th position.

It was a good day in Spain for the F1 drivers, with few interruptions, especially this afternoon, which allowed several teams to perform race simulations, led by Force India, Sauber, Caterham, and McLaren.

In terms of attendance, it’s Giedo Van der Garde who covered the most ground today with 126 laps. He leads Lewis Hamilton, who completed 117 laps, Jean-Eric Vergne (114 laps), and Sergio Pérez (101 laps).

Today was the big debut for Jules Bianchi behind the wheel of the Marussia. The French driver completed short or medium-length stints, likely to get accustomed to his new single-seater, learn the team’s procedures, and begin working. On the French side, and although it was not planned, Romain Grosjean drove this afternoon, taking over from Davide Valsecchi who drove this morning since Kimi Räikkönen was unwell and unable to drive.

To highlight in conclusion, the premature end of session for Felipe Massa: just a few minutes before the end of the day, the Ferrari F138 lost its front left wheel on the straight between turns 9 and 10. The footage suggests an explosion, possibly around the braking system, but it could also be a break of the rim or wheel nut. Fortunately, both the driver and marshals emerged unscathed from the incident.

If you want to know in detail what happened today, you can relive the live broadcast of this day.

Results of the private tests in Barcelona – Saturday, March 2 /f1/news/15061-barcelona-tests-2-live-day-3.html