The fog that hindered previous testing in Barcelona didn’t show up for Day 3, and enabled Sergio Perez to top the time sheet.
The 1min22.094s lap time posted by the Mexican stands as the fastest so far of all this 2012 Barcelona pre-season venue, even though productivity was cut-short by rain.
However, the big story of the day belonged to McLaren and Red Bull, which unveiled updates to their 2012 contenders. Aboard the latest version of the MP4-27, Jenson Button lapped second fastest to Perez.
Mark Webber was the one testing the revised RB8, but he was only eighth fastest, with a 1min22.662s, 0.568s adrift Perez.
"That is a whole new package from Red Bull," AUTOSPORT's technical correspondent Gary Anderson said of the new exhaust system.
"Which is impressive this early in the season. They had a good advantage last year with the exhaust pipes - and they know how that area of the car operates so they are continuing to push forward in that area."
Third was Toro Rosso man Daniel Ricciardo, carrying out a race simulation. Mind you, he posted his best time prior to it, while on super soft tires.
The same can be said of Ferrari's Felipe Massa – his 1min22.413s effort achieved on the fastest of Pirelli's compound. Amusingly, what caught more attention than his run, was a Twitter rumour involving the Brazilian, saying he had been sacked by Ferrari. Maranello officials were quick to dismiss the spreading "news".
Down the order, Paul di Resta (Force India), Bruno Senna (Williams), Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and the resurgent Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) all had quiet days, even though Senna did park his car when rain started falling, prompting a red flag.
On a more bitter note, HRT failed to make an appearance, and announced they would not run at all before the end of these last pre-season tests. They were late finishing their F112 and were left without enough time to transport it from Greding (Germany) to Barcelona.
They instead plan to shake the car down in a filming session, which means in three season of activity, the Spanish outfit has not participated in a single official pre-season testing venue.
Formula 1 winter test 3, Day 3 (Barcelona, Spain)*
1 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1min22.094s - 114 laps
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1min22.103s - 44
3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min22.155s - 131
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1min22.413s - 122
5 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1min22.446s - 108
6 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1min22.480s - 111
7 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1min22.630s - 63
8 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1min22.662s - 70
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1min22.932s - 129
10 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1min25.379s - 43
*Unofficial timing
The 1min22.094s lap time posted by the Mexican stands as the fastest so far of all this 2012 Barcelona pre-season venue, even though productivity was cut-short by rain.
However, the big story of the day belonged to McLaren and Red Bull, which unveiled updates to their 2012 contenders. Aboard the latest version of the MP4-27, Jenson Button lapped second fastest to Perez.
Mark Webber was the one testing the revised RB8, but he was only eighth fastest, with a 1min22.662s, 0.568s adrift Perez.
"That is a whole new package from Red Bull," AUTOSPORT's technical correspondent Gary Anderson said of the new exhaust system.
"Which is impressive this early in the season. They had a good advantage last year with the exhaust pipes - and they know how that area of the car operates so they are continuing to push forward in that area."
Third was Toro Rosso man Daniel Ricciardo, carrying out a race simulation. Mind you, he posted his best time prior to it, while on super soft tires.
The same can be said of Ferrari's Felipe Massa – his 1min22.413s effort achieved on the fastest of Pirelli's compound. Amusingly, what caught more attention than his run, was a Twitter rumour involving the Brazilian, saying he had been sacked by Ferrari. Maranello officials were quick to dismiss the spreading "news".
Down the order, Paul di Resta (Force India), Bruno Senna (Williams), Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and the resurgent Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) all had quiet days, even though Senna did park his car when rain started falling, prompting a red flag.
On a more bitter note, HRT failed to make an appearance, and announced they would not run at all before the end of these last pre-season tests. They were late finishing their F112 and were left without enough time to transport it from Greding (Germany) to Barcelona.
They instead plan to shake the car down in a filming session, which means in three season of activity, the Spanish outfit has not participated in a single official pre-season testing venue.
Formula 1 winter test 3, Day 3 (Barcelona, Spain)*
1 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1min22.094s - 114 laps
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1min22.103s - 44
3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min22.155s - 131
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1min22.413s - 122
5 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1min22.446s - 108
6 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1min22.480s - 111
7 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1min22.630s - 63
8 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1min22.662s - 70
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1min22.932s - 129
10 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1min25.379s - 43
*Unofficial timing