Sidepodcast - All for F1 and F1 for all

Barcelona test: Day three - Ferrari make it three in a row, with Badoer on top

Published by Christine

Ferrari topped the time sheets for the third day in a row, although this time Luca Badoer managed to nab the top spot for the Italians. Badoer was helped by test driver Marc Gene, who finished further down the field, but he seemed to be concentrating on endurance running rather than speed.

Showing impressive form, Robert Kubica finished up third, behind Kovalainen for Renault. Kubica was testing the BMW Sauber for tyres and a new gearbox. He had a little mechanical trouble in the morning but managed to continue running into the afternoon. Kubica was joined by Timo Glock who used the majority of the day to familiarise himself with the car, finishing up 100 laps in total.

Honda driver Rubens Barrichello was joined by Christian Klien to work on suspension, and they finished 5th and 10th respectively. Both men were happy with their days work though. Barrichello: "I think we have a decent understanding of how we can begin to maximise the tyres with our car and the team has two more tests to continue this development." Klien: "Working with a new car, a new team and new tyres for the first time is always going to be a challenge but I am pretty happy with my performance."

In other testing news:

  • Hamilton was out on track again, but obviously entirely overshadowed by the return of Mika Häkkinen. Hamilton ended up position himself fourth, between Kubica and Barrichello.
  • Renault had a better day, with Kovalainen raising the pace and finishing second, only three-tenths behind first place Ferrari.
  • Toyota had both drivers out on track, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, focusing on tyres and car setups.
  • Anthony Davidson was by himself today, and managed to speed his Super Aguri into 13th position.
  • There were two red flags throughout the day, one for Narain Karthikeyan in the Williams and Glock in the BMW Sauber.

For all the times and statistics, go here.