Winter Testing: Jerez Day 3

Massa soared to the top of the timesheets on the third day of testing where many were commenting on the abrasive nature of the circuit. His time came about thirty laps into his day and although he wasn’t able to beat it, the time he posted was the fastest that anyone had managed, although this was on the soft tyre.

Rosberg on the other hand managed two Grand Prix distances in a days work and felt fresh as a daisy thanks to a solid winter of preparation in an effort to capture his second career win. The German commented on the team needing to rectify an issue with understeer, but whether it is circuit specific or car related will be seen in Barcelona.

The reigning champion made his 2013 debut today and set to work to become one of three drivers to dip into triple figure lap counts. He squeezed in one more lap than Webber achieved yesterday and continued to illustrate the early reliability the RB9 possesses.

Third placed 2012 driver Raikkonen also turned up to get his first taste of the E21, and balance was an immediate concern for the Finn which is something the team will work on. However a more pressing concern was a clutch issue that limited the number of laps he completed. Vergne was close behind and improved his times solidly throughout the day, but not without causing a red flag by stopping at the end of the pit lane.

Rossiter was sharing duties with di Resta again and as the driver explained his time in the car is to improve his ability in the simulator, having spent so much out of an F1 car he has some catching up to do. Which he is doing by improving on his time set yesterday. However di Resta suffered an exhaust failure that ended his afternoon after a mere 7 laps. Button took the car back off of Perez for the day as was in no rush to set a time and was mixing it up near the top, but decided to end every ones day early by stopping out on track. His car was picked up between turns 7 and 8 and taken back to the pits.

Gutierrez made his debut with Sauber and reported he felt immediately comfortable with the car and that he could feel the process made within it. His focus was pulled in the direction of the tyres and their warm up characteristics.

Chilton improved on the best time a Marussia had set which he did in the afternoon, while Bottas continued Maldonado’s work with the 2012 car. He tested a new front wing and concentrated on heavy fuel runs throughout the day. Finally Pic got a chance to drive and F1 car with KERS installed.