Summary

  • Penultimate day of pre-season testing

  • Kimi Raikkonen fastest at lunch

  • Ferrari test new head protection

  • Get involved #ThingsKimiFindsOK

  1. Postpublished at 12:05 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  2. Postpublished at 12:01 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    Oh dear, a problem for Haas as Romain Grosjean is off the circuit at Turn 4. 

    That will signal an ever so slightly early lunch.

  3. Postpublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    The red flag is waved just before lunch. 

    Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen, Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean were all out on the circuit.

  4. red flag

    Red flagpublished at 11:58 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  5. Get involvedpublished at 11:55 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    #bbcf1

    Because of the sheer amount of mileage the Mercedes has been able to do the team didn't want to tire the drivers out.

  6. Postpublished at 11:49 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  7. Get involvedpublished at 11:48 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    #ifiwereinchargeoff1

    What would you do if you were in charge of Formula 1?

    Get involved via #ifiwereinchargeoff1, external

    I don't know why BBQ sauce is involved, but then why not!

  8. Postpublished at 11:44 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    Max VerstappenImage source, Getty Images

    F1 journalist Dan Knutson in Barcelona: "Max Verstappen did a lap on the ultra softs. He set his personal best times in sectors 1 and 3, but not in sector 2. So, once again the drivers are having problems getting the super and ultra soft tyres to work for a whole lap."

  9. Postpublished at 11:37 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    It feels like times have been changing every time I write an update, but things are pretty quiet on the circuit now. 

    Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean are out there, while a flash of silver leaving the pits means Nico Rosberg is out for the final 20 minutes before lunch.

  10. Get involvedpublished at 11:34 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    #ifiwereinchargeoff1

    These things are getting a mention again...

    Megan Gray: Can't believe nobody has mentioned the dreaded blue shell.

    ShellImage source, Twitter

    What would you do if you were in charge of F1?

    Let us know via#ifiwereinchargeoff1, external

  11. Postpublished at 11:29 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  12. Postpublished at 11:28 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    We'll get a full run down of what compound the fastest times were set on, but Kimi Raikkonen's was on the ultra soft, while Nico Hulkenberg has just improved slightly to 1:23.251 on his ultra soft run, almost half a second down on the Ferrari.

    Max Verstappen's time came on the soft tyre, with Nico Rosberg doing his on mediums.

  13. Postpublished at 11:25 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  14. Testing latestpublished at 11:24 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    1. Kimi Raikkonen 1:22.765 34 laps

    2. Nico Hulkenberg 1:23.352 45 laps

    3. Max Verstappen 1:23.650 45 laps

    4. Nico Rosberg 1:24.126 68 laps

    5. Felipe Nasr 1:24.760 34 laps

    6. Fernando Alonso 1:24.870 50 laps

    7. Daniil Kvyat 1:25.141 44 laps

    8. Felipe Massa 1:25.962 30 laps

    9. Jolyon Palmer 1:27.182 26 laps

    10. Romain Grosjean 1:28.442 35 laps

    11. Pascal Wehrlein 1:28.476 18 laps

  15. Postpublished at 11:17 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

  16. Ferrari go fasterpublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    Kimi Raikkonen has swapped from the super soft to the ultra soft compound and he goes even quicker with 1:22.765. 

    Halo removed, Raikkonen has turned into a devil on track.

  17. Postpublished at 11:09 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    F1 journalist Dan Knutson in Barcelona: "Team Haas is now on an “hourly plan” after the car completed just one lap yesterday because of turbo problems.

    "'We will just have to try and get a race simulation in and get as many laps as possible to learn what the car is doing and what other problems we have,' Team Principal Guenther Steiner said last night. 'The main aim is to get as many laps in as possible.

    "'Depending on how tomorrow goes is how we go on Friday. It’s not a weekly plan, it’s an hourly plan, so we could change tack depending on how we go tomorrow. Maybe we can be confident we have analysed the problem and made the fix, but you never know what is coming next. I think we will be good to go again tomorrow.'

    "It’s now 'tomorrow,' and Romain Grosjean completed just over 20 laps in the first three hours.

  18. Postpublished at 11:02 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer

    HaloImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ferrari tested a 'halo' head protection device earlier this morning

    Ferrari are finally doing some quick laps on the soft tyre and the result is very interesting. 

    Kimi Raikkonen’s 1:23.009, which he has just set, is a smudge faster than the fastest lap of the week so far - Nico Rosberg’s 1:23.022 from Tuesday and that makes it the fastest soft-tyre lap of the winter. 

    Problem is, Mercedes have not yet done any qualifying-type laps this morning so there is no direct comparison. And the track is definitely colder and windier on Thursday than it was on Tuesday.

  19. Postpublished at 11:00 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016

    Kimi Raikkonen is on one today. He improves on his timesheet-leading time by clocking 1:23.009 on soft tyres.

    In Kimi speak, I'd imagine that lap was 'OK'...

  20. Postpublished at 10:57 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March 2016