• Barcelona Test Day Three

Perez maintains top spot

Sergio Perez pushed hard to set the fastest lap of the day © Sutton Images

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• Second Barcelona testing - 3rd day

Sauber's Sergio Perez held on to the top spot on the third day of testing at Barcleona, after setting the fastest lap of the week in the morning session.

The lap was probably the closest we have seen to a true qualifying simulation from any of the teams, as Perez did just one flying lap on a brand new set of tyres. The track temperature also played its part, with the surface of the circuit peaking over 30C before lunch. It was the first day of the test with completely blue skies so far, something McLaren, which is having a day off track before running on Friday and Saturday, might rue if the clouds return at the end of the week.

But Perez didn't have it all his own way, in the afternoon his car spent a long time in the garage as a problem with its KERS required attention. He soon got back on track but, like most of his competitors, was working on longer runs in the afternoon and didn't come close to matching his morning pace.

Ferrari's agenda was based on assessing its new aerodynamic package that Felipe Massa debuted on the car on Wednesday. The Brazilian was again at the wheel and spent the afternoon completing longer runs as part of a race simulation. Nevertheless, Massa still found time for a single flying lap before lunch that was good enough for second place in the final standings. Most impressive from the Italian team was the car's reliability, with 131 laps completed without any obvious problems.

This week's early pace setter Red Bull toned down its pace on Thursday with just the third fastest time. It was Mark Webber's final day at the wheel of the RB7 and in the afternoon he appeared to be running a race simulation. He clocked his fastest time of the day in the morning during a five lap run, but judging by Vettel's pace yesterday it was a long way from the car's best.

Rubens Barrichello was fourth fastest but both his morning and afternoon sessions ended with the car stopping on track. The first was just a minor issue according to the team, which had removed the KERS on the FW33 after a pretty serious fault with the technology on Wednesday.

Williams were far from alone with its reliability problems however. Just moments after Barrichello's car was retrieved for the second time and the green flag waved, Perez's Sauber came to a halt at the end of the pit lane. Lotus also had issues, changing a gearbox and recovering from a water leak in the morning that limited Jarno Trulli to just six laps. The afternoon was more successful, with Heikki Kovalainen completing 40 laps.

With just one day of testing remaining for seven of the teams, some were trying to grab as many laps as possible while others appeared more laid back. For example, Toro Rosso, which is among the seven and has showed some positive signs this week, spent most of the afternoon instructing Jaime Alguersuari to come in to the pits for tyre change practice. The routine drew a small crowd in the pit lane with Pirelli's Paul Hembery and Toro Rosso test driver Paul Ricciardo among the onlookers.

Once again spectators were thin on the ground, although Alguersuari had some prominent followers waving banners in the main grandstand. Assuming the weather holds out, a much bigger attendance is expected tomorrow when home hero Fernando Alonso will be at the wheel of the Ferrari.

Times

Laurence Edmondson is an assistant editor on ESPNF1

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