Formula 1

Jerez pre-season test day 3 – Nasr fastest despite early spin

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Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr was fastest for the Sauber F1 Team on day three of the Jerez pre-season test, finishing ahead of the Scuderia Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen after a Soft tyre run during the afternoon’s running.

The Brazilian recovered from an early spin into the Jerez gravel that caused the day’s first red flag period to complete 109 laps, with his 1m21.545s lap beating Raikkonen by 0.205s.

The session began with a wet track after overnight rain, with many of the early lap times being set on Pirelli’s intermediate tyres, before slicks took over.

After seeing Sebastian Vettel top the times on the opening two days of the test, Raikkonen got his first taste of the SF15-T on Tuesday, and ran 94 laps of the circuit, setting a time of 1m21.750s on Pirelli’s Medium tyres.

Nico Rosberg was third fastest for Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS, completing a day-high of 151 laps, but his day was not without trouble, as his Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid engine cut out mid-way through the day, causing the second red flag period around 1pm.

Felipe Massa had his first day of testing in the new Williams Martini Racing FW37, and completed 71 laps in finishing fourth fastest, ahead of Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus-Mercedes E23 Hybrid, who was responsible for the third and final red flag period with just moments left of the day’s running when he stopped on the back straight.

One of the busiest drivers on day three was Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr, who racked up an impressive 137 laps in finishing sixth fastest, albeit 1.642s back on the time set by Nasr up front.

The Infiniti Red Bull Racing team were forced to change the engine on Daniel Ricciardo’s RB11, restricting the Australian’s time on track to just 49 laps, finishing seventh fastest.

Once again the revived McLaren-Honda partnership struggled, although Fernando Alonso was able to complete 32 laps of Jerez before the Spaniard detected a problem with the engine on an out-lap that ended their day early. He finished eighth and last of the drivers on the day, but did not get on track when the track was fully dry to set a reflective lap time.

Raikkonen (top left), Rosberg (top right) and Massa (bottom left) were P2 to P4, but Alonso (bottom right) struggled again (all photos Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd)

Raikkonen (top left), Rosberg (top right) and Massa (bottom left) were P2 to P4, but Alonso (bottom right) struggled again (all photos Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd)

Jerez Pre-Season Test Day 3 Times

POS NO. DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME LAPS
1 12 Felipe Nasr BRZ Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.545s 109
2 7 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 1m21.750s 94
3 6 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes 1m21.982s 151
4 19 Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes 1m22.276s 71
5 13 Pastor Maldonado VEN Lotus-Mercedes 1m22.713s 96
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jr ESP Toro Rosso-Renault 1m23.187s 137
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-Renault 1m23.901s 49
8 14 Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda 1m35.553s 32
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