Rookie F1

This second test in Barcelona is the most important one, this is where teams start to rubber stamp the car they’ll be taking to Melbourne at the end of the month. However it was another session, as predicted, that was disrupted by the poor weather which led to the big difference in times between the drivers that braved the rain. Despite the rain Webber topped the timesheets on the slippery track in the last hour when the track cleared enough to push.

Hamilton, who completed the most laps, not only managed to fit in a race simulation around the weather and left the day positive about the continuing progress of the car. Vergne finished the top three, but didn’t find the day to his liking as the rain meant they were unable to get through the long list they wanted to, but he made the most of the good conditions in the afternoon. Bottas, Perez and Gutierrez all posted times within just over a tenth of each other and each got a chance to continue their understanding of the wet weather tyres.

The buzz at Force India was focused on the eventual confirmation that Sutil would be teaming up with di Resta for the season, but the Scot like others saw the gain in using the wet compounds. Massa was only one lap behind Hamilton in total completed but with a morning spent on aero tests and a race simulation after lunch, setting fast times wasn’t high on the agenda.

Chilton showed the possibility of Marussia nipping ahead of Caterham this season, the new Brit on the block continued to enjoy the extended time in the car as a new team mate was hunted down. Grosjean managed the least laps due to taking a small detour off the circuit.