Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing 2015: Times, News and Reports from Day 3 in Jerez

Felipe Nasr finished Day 3 of the Formula 1 testing in Jerez top of the standings after a tumultuous time in his Sauber. He set the benchmark of the 1:25.545 while on the soft tyre compound, but also suffered an early morning spin to set nerves jangling for his team:

Fernando Alonso got some vital laps under his belt in the McLaren, but the team will have been disappointed to have missed the final three hours of the day after another technical faux pas. His former Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was also impressive on Day 3 and pound-for-pound the Italian team were the fastest car out on track once again. 

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Mercedes—who rattled off an impressive 257 laps over the course of the first two days—got 100 laps in before lunch, but the W06 broke down once again ahead of the afternoon. Nico Rosberg emerged for the afternoon session and while he was in and out of the pits throughout, he finished the day with an impressive 151 laps completed.

Here’s a look at the standings from the penultimate day of Jerez testing.

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1.	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:21.545	108
2.	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:21.750	92
3.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:21.982	151
4.	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:22.276	71
5.	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:22.713	96
6.	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:23.187	136
7.	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:23.901	48
8.	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:35.553	32

Bittersweet Day for McLaren, Alonso

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The day looked to have gotten off to a fine start for McLaren as Fernando Alonso put together some encouraging early stints. After an installation lap conducted by Jenson Button at the end of Day 2 looked to have put an end to some perennial issues, the team strung together a few promising laps at the beginning of Day 3.

As we can see here courtesy of Pete Gill of Sky Sports, they wasted little time in getting to work:

But that early positivity was to give way to some more concerns. Despite putting 32 laps on the board—20 more than the total amount accrued over the first two days—their session was curtailed early, meaning that Alonso would have to sit out the final three hours of the day.

The team’s official Twitter account broke the news of the technical glitch, insisting that it’s not a problem that’ll keep them off the road on Day 4 of tests:

Nonetheless, the Spaniard was happy with the team’s day:

For Alonso, this lack of track time will be something of a concern ahead of his second McLaren debut. With Button scheduled in the cockpit on Day 4, it means the Spaniard will not be behind the wheel until the Barcelona tests begin in two weeks time; by that point, the start of the regular season will be looming large for the teams.

More Good Signs for Ferrari 

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After reigning supreme over the first couple of days in Jerez, Ferrari welcomed Raikkonen back into the cockpit and he looked in superb fettle. Indeed, when the teams switched to slick tyres midway through the morning after conditions improved, it was the iconic red car that looked sharpest.

As noted by Sky Sports F1, the Finn was getting better and better throughout the day:

History shows us that it's difficult to accrue anything really tangible from these sessions but after Sebastian Vettel's dominance over the course of the first couple of days, Ferrari supporters will be especially excited about the season to come. They were certainly pleased to see Raikkonen back on track:

The data accrued from these runs will be crucial to the teams hopes of enjoying a much more prosperous season and in the aforementioned duo, they have two classy drivers behind the wheel; the first three days of tests have demonstrated that in earnest.

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There was no time for a late burst in the day for the Finn, but being narrowly behind Nasr’s fastest time on a tyre compound that gives away 0.5-1 seconds advantage per lap makes for another prosperous day for Ferrari; Raikkonen will get the chance to show what he can do again on Day 4.