F1 testing – Hamilton ups the ante in Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton significantly improved the test benchmark time by completing a lap in 1'20"558 after taking advantage of much more pleasant conditions than during the first two days. The pilot Mercedes quickly placed itself at the forefront by repeatedly improving the benchmark time with Pirelli's soft tyres. The 2008 world champion moved at a very good pace since Adrian Sutil and Felipe Massa were the closest, more than a second behind. The pilot Ferrari was the most active this morning covering 63 laps.

Pastor Maldonado sets the fourth fastest time before giving way to his teammate Valtteri Bottas this afternoon. The pilot Williams who piloted a FW35 with new type pontoons Red Bull ahead of Esteban Gutiérrez, last driver with less than two seconds behind the reference time. Sergio Pérez is in sixth position ahead of Mark Webber and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Davide Valsecchi replaced the ailing Kimi Räikkönen at the last minute. The Lotus reserve driver completed only 16 laps and finished eighth. Romain Grosjean should be back on track this afternoon after returning in disaster to Barcelona. For his debut at Marussia, Jules Bianchi already seems to have found his feet on the MR02 with a best time of 1'24"7 which allows him to beat Giedo van der Garde who encountered a mechanical problem this morning.

Mid-day results? Day 7 Barcelona

1/ Lewis Hamilton? Mercedes? 1'20"558? 56 rounds
2/ Adrian Sutil? Force India? 1'21"627 (+1"069)? 41 rounds
3/ Felipe Massa? Ferrari? 1'21 »673 (+1 »115)? 63 rounds
4/ Pastor Maldonado? Williams? 1’22”305 (+1”747)? 34 rounds
5/ Esteban Gutiérrez? Sauber? 1'22"553 (+1"995)? 47 rounds
6/ Sergio Pérez? McLaren ? 1'22 »694 (+2 »136)? 50 rounds
7/ Mark Webber? Red Bull ? 1’23”116 (+2”558)? 35 rounds
8/ Jean-Eric Vergne? Toro Rosso ? 1'23 »223 (+2 »665)? 41 rounds
9/ Davide Valsecchi? Lotus? 1’23”448 (+2”890)? 16 rounds
10/ Jules Bianchi? Marussia? 1'24"307 (+3"749)? 37 rounds
11/ Giedo van der Garde? Caterham? 1’24”520 (+3”962)? 53 rounds