Image source, getty

Another day of pre-season ticked off. Just one more to go this week.

Mercedes and Ferrari remain joined in battle at the head of the standings, but it remains too early to draw any firm conclusions on which of them has the edge.

Elsewhere, Renault have shown good speed, McLaren's reliability is improving even if their pace isn't, and Williams will be hoping rookie Lance Stroll can quickly get to grips with the FW40 after three accidents in two days.

Andrew Benson's full report will be live on the site shortly, and we'll be back with you for coverage of day four from 07:55 GMT tomorrow. 

1 Bottas   Mercedes   1:19.705 75 laps Ultrasoft

2 Vettel   Ferrari   1:19.952 139 Soft 

3 Ricciardo   Red Bull   1:21.153 70 Soft 

4 Palmer   Renault   1:21.396 51 Soft 

5 Hulkenberg   Renault   1:21.791 42 Soft 

6 Ericsson   Sauber   1:21.824 125 Supersoft 

7 Hamilton   Mercedes   1:22.090 95 Soft   

8 Grosjean   Haas   1:22.118 56 Supersoft 

9 Stroll   Williams   1:22.351 98 Soft

10 Alonso   McLaren   1:22.598 72 Ultrasoft   

11 Sainz   Toro Rosso   1:23.540 32 Medium 

12 Celis Jr   Force India   1:23.619 70 Soft 

13 Kvyat   Toro Rosso   1:23.952 31 Medium 

Four minutes to go.

Red flagpublished at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2017

16:51 GMT 1 March 2017

The Ferrari of Vettel slows to a halt on the pit straight.

That's the Scuderia's first mechanical issue of the week.

A good day for the Enstone guys and gals. P4 and P5 as it stands after sharing the car between their drivers today.

1 Bottas  Mercedes  1:19.705 75 laps Ultrasoft

2 Vettel  Ferrari  1:19.952 126 Soft 

3 Ricciardo  Red Bull  1:21.153 67 Soft 

4 Palmer  Renault  1:21.396 51 Soft 

5 Hulkenberg  Renault  1:21.396 42 Soft 

6 Ericsson  Sauber  1:21.824 117 Supersoft 

7 Grosjean  Haas  1:22.118 50 Supersoft 

8 Hamilton  Mercedes  1:22.216 83 Soft   

9 Stroll  Williams  1:22.351 98 Soft

10 Alonso  McLaren  1:22.598 72 Ultrasoft   

11 Sainz  Toro Rosso  1:23.540 32 Medium 

12 Celis Jr  Force India  1:23.619 63 Soft 

13 Kvyat  Toro Rosso  1:23.952 31 Medium 

Down at Renault, Nico Hulkenberg has put on a set of soft tyres and does a 1:21.791. He's now in fifth.

The two Renaults are best of the rest after Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull as things stand.

Ross Brawn, the new sporting director of Formula 1, would like a non-championship race inserted into the calendar where organisers could experiment with new formats and rules.

It's the gossip.

Yes, yes. I make these far too easy.

As 90% of you correctly told me, this is Michael Schumacher and Jean Alesi having a natter at the end of the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, a race cut short by a leg-breaking crash for Olivier Panis. 

I promise to make tomorrow's harder. I will set my Getty Images search parameters to the 1950s.

Image source, Getty Images

Dan Knutson
F1 journalist in Barcelona

McLaren’s Racing Director Eric Boullier and Honda’s F1 chief Yasuke Hasegawa have just had a sit-down meeting with the media.

I asked if they could put to rest the rumour making the rounds on the internet that McLaren and Honda will split.

“We are supposed to ditch Honda?” Boullier asked. “No. There is no plan at all.”

Hasegawa added: “Of course not.”

Asked about the problems encountered so far this week, Boullier said: “We had many issues. I think no one is obviously fundamental. All of them are fixable. I am not sure we know all of them yet, even Hasegawa-san, because yesterday’s engine is on the way to Japan. 

"Today finally we can run, so have some other glitches, the usual ones you get on day one. But we have them on day three.”

The problem with Stoffel Vandoorne's engine on Tuesday – the one that is now being flown to Honda’s factory in Japan – should be known on Thursday.

Image source, .