Posted on 9th March 2017
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel led the way during the third day of the second test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon.
After his two stoppages in the morning which were both caused by electrical issues, McLaren-Honda driver Stoffel Vandoorne left the garage with around two hours of the afternoon remaining, but only managed only a further 16 laps on top of the 32 he logged before lunch.
Renault driver Jolyon Palmer was responsible for the afternoon’s second stoppage – and fourth of the day when he came to a stop at Turn 10 following a power unit change; with the first one being caused by Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat stopped on Turn 5.
Palmer's team mate Nico Hulkenberg was originally scheduled to take over the Renault after lunch, but the change of engine combined with Palmer’s problem meant he never appeared on track. Also the Williams drivers of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll propped up the times but did not complete any performance running as they logged 165 laps between them.
But it was Sebastian Vettel who was fastest on the third day of the second F1 pre-season test with a stunning lap time of 1.19.024 and completed 156 laps. Vettel's lap time was three-tenths quicker than Valtteri Bottas managed earlier this week.
Vettel finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second place and ahead of Esteban Ocon in third place. Daniil Kvyat finished in fourth place ahead of Kevin Magnussen in fifth place,
Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place, Stoffel Vandoorne in seventh place, Valtteri Bottas in eighth place, Pascal Wehrlein in ninth place and Jolyon Palmer in tenth place.
As we head further down the grid, Marcus Ericsson ended the session in eleventh place ahead of Felipe Massa in twelfth place and Lance Stroll in thirteenth place.
Day Three Timesheet
1) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:19.024, 156 laps
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:19.352, 52 laps
3) Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1:20.161, 137 laps
4) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:20.416, 94 laps
5) Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:20.504, 119 laps
6) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:20.824, 128 laps
7) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren-Honda, 1:21.348, 48 laps
8) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:21.819, 95 laps
9) Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, 1:22.347, 44 laps
10) Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.22.418, 53 laps
11) Marcus Ericcson, Sauber, 1.23.330, 88 laps
12) Felipe Massa, Williams, 1.24.443, 80 laps
13) Lance Stroll, Williams, 1.24.863, 85 laps
Keep your eyes peeled at Driving For Pleasure as we will be covering the final daysof the second pre-season F1 test at Barcelona with our report tomorrow alongside the latest F1 news.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
