The third day of testing in Barcelona saw the Renault of Fernando Alonso finishing with the quickest time of the day. The Spaniard ran on slick tyres and set his best time of 1:18.483 towards the end of the morning session.
Michael Schumacher was back behind the wheel of a Ferrari and he finished the day with the second quickest time overall. Most of his day was spent analysing various types of Bridgestone tyres using a modified version of the F2008 which gave him less downforce to simulate the expected conditions of the 2009 season.
Force India had another good day with Adrian Sutil managing the third fastest time, despite losing some time in the morning thanks to a clutch problem.
Hamilton, Webber, Trulli and Bourdais rounded out the time, each running on grooved tyres.
Toro Rosso will not be pleased with Bourdais the young driver crashed the new STR3 at Turn Nine, crashing into a barrier and forcing the team to end their test session early. The crash means that the team are unlikely to have the car ready for the fourth day of testing, so team-mate Sebastien Vettel will not be getting a taste of the new car this week. Toro Ross Franz Tost has confirmed that the accident was not as a result of a mechanical failure and that Bourdais just went too fast.
Unofficial Times for Day 3 of Testing:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alonso Renault (B) 1:18.483 100 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:19.323 83 3. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:19.424 102 4. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:19.785 112 5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:19.841 65 6. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:19.920 141 7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.591 102 8. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.715 71 9. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.849 87 10. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:20.867 90
