Michael Schumacher sent Mercedes rocketing to the top of the timesheets today in Jerez, as he and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari were the only two drivers to finish in the 1:20s throughout the day. They were both equally hard-working as well, completing over 100 laps each, as did Webber in the Red Bull, who ended up fifth.

Williams had some ground to make up after struggling through 14 laps yesterday with a broken rear wing, but the team were faced with another tough day. Firstly, their KERS showed some warning lights, so the system was disassembled and reinstalled as a precaution. Then Maldonado crashed off track, smashing the Williams against a wall. There was only just over an hour's running left in the day, but it was another shortened programme for Williams.

There were a couple of other red flags to note, with Alguersuari and Petrov spinning off track and causing two separate stoppages. Sergio Pérez had a slightly worse time of it, crashing the car at turn 7 and wrecking the front end. Sauber had to call it a day and concentrate on repairs.