Postpublished at 16:23 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Pastor Maldonado cuts a lonely figure as he weaves his way around the circuit in the Lotus - the only car on the circuit.
Summary
Maldonado fastest on third day of testing
Vettel in gravel on testing return
Ferrari driver goes on to complete over 100 laps
Lewis Hamilton enjoys trouble-free day
Jenson Button misses most of afternoon
Postpublished at 16:23 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Postpublished at 16:15 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Image source, Getty ImagesJust over 45 minutes remaining of testing for today, will we see another appearance by the McLaren? Yes, is the answer, as Jenson Button ventures out but how many more laps can he add to the 18 he has completed today?
Completed laps on day threepublished at 16:07 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
1. Max Verstappen 125
2. Daniil Kvyat 102
3. Sebastian Vettel 101
4. Pastor Maldonado 94
5. Lewis Hamilton 86
6. Pascal Wehrlein 76
7. Felipe Massa 55
8. Marcus Ericsson 46
9. Valtteri Bottas 36
10. Jenson Button 18
Postpublished at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Nothing much going on on the circuit at the moment, with Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas performing pit-stop practices. Sebastian Vettel continues to increase his mileage on the circuit as he surpasses 100 laps for the day in the Ferrari.
Get involved #bbcf1published at 15:57 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Tony Dickinson:, external Maybe this is a secret plan by McLaren to lull everyone into a false sense of security.
Postpublished at 15:56 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Marcus Ericsson, on the soft tyres, is up to fourth with 1:26.340, and the times from third fastest to seventh fastest are separated by nine tenths of a second.
Ericsson, Max Verstappen, and Pascal Wehrlein are the drivers on the track at the moment.
Postpublished at 15:53 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
F1 journalist Dan Knutson in Barcelona: "Williams did the same thing last year - doing pit stop after pit stop with the driver coming in after each lap and therefore never setting a lap time. Valtteri Bottas has now done 34 laps doing just that. It's expected that he will do some proper timed runs before the session ends."
Postpublished at 15:48 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Brief. Jenson Button is once again back in the pits after lap 18.
Postpublished at 15:47 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
A limited-power McLaren is guided back on to the circuit by Jenson Button.
Meanwhile, Daniil Kvyat has surpassed 100 laps for the day as he heads off on number 103. Only Max Verstappen, on 115, has managed more today.
Postpublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Image source, SauberSauber:, external Pit-stop practice. Marcus Ericsson is now in the garage and gives feedback.
Postpublished at 15:41 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"More on McLaren's problems. It turns out our earlier suspicions were right - McLaren's delays have been caused by the same part that stopped Jenson Button on Thursday, a seal on the motor generator unit that recovers energy from the rear axle (the MGU-K). A new design was fitted to the car for today's running and Honda hoped that would fix the problem. But it has not.
"A spokeswoman said: 'After the morning session, the car fed back MGU-K issues similar to what we experienced on Thursday, so we brought it back to the garage. After a thorough check, we have decided to resume testing with limited power to the MGU-K. A new re-engineered seal is scheduled to arrive and will be applied later this evening.'"
Postpublished at 15:41 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
It looks like it is a short stay back in the garage for Jenson Button, with the McLaren seemingly set to re-enter the fray. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is back on the circuit, currently lapping in the 1:26s.
Get involved #bbcf1published at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Mark Snow:, external Hope McLaren have not scooped the 'F12015 sunk without trace award' again before the season's even got under way.
Postpublished at 15:33 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Valtteri Bottas is up to 30 laps without setting a time as Jenson Button heads back in at the end of lap 15.
Postpublished at 15:31 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Jenson Button completes his 14th lap of the day and stays out on the circuit. All being well, he will have 90 minutes out there to rack up the mileage.
Postpublished at 15:29 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
...and out goes Jenson Button, his first trip on to the circuit since this morning.
Postpublished at 15:28 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Daniil Kvyat on his race simulation, pits for softs with 12 laps to go. Meanwhile, it seems like there may indeed be some activity in the McLaren garage...
Postpublished at 15:26 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"McLaren say they hope to have Jenson Button out again 'very soon'. The team said that 'there were a number of things we had to check and some issues we had to address, which took some time'. They promise more details shortly."
Postpublished at 15:25 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Image source, Fernando AlonsoNo sign of the McLaren on the circuit yet, so here's a picture of a beaming Fernando Alonso stood behind the iconic McLaren MP4/4 from the 1988 season.
Postpublished at 15:22 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2015
Lewis Hamilton completes an 11-lap stint on medium tyres, with the majority of those laps either 1:27s or 1:28s.
Sebastian Vettel also completes a flurry of laps, heading in after his 16th in succession with those averaging in the 1:29s. He is closing in on a century of laps for the day and it is looking like being another pleasing outing on the circuit for Ferrari, despite his spin right at the start of the day.