Jerez first 2015 test Test day three

19:15

Felipe Nasr

Here's our full report from Jerez day three, as Sauber takes over from Ferrari at the top.

REPORT: Nasr pips Raikkonen in F1 testing

That's it from AUTOSPORT Live today - be sure to keep an eye on autosport.com tonight for all the news and reaction from Jerez.

We'll be back for live coverage of the final day of this test tomorrow, so we'll see you just before 8am UK time to get things up and running.

19:06 @MercedesAMGF1: "That's a wrap for @nico_rosberg @circuitodejerez! Nice touch on his in-lap radio: "Thank you everyone - really top job to start to the year"

19:02 So after its soft-tyre pursuit failed to topple Ferrari on the first two days, Sauber succeeded at the third attempt to finish the day on top, courtesy of Nasr.

19:00 Maldonado has stopped the Lotus between turns five and six, which will mean a slightly premature end to proceedings here on day three.

18:59 Red flag here in Jerez with just a minute left to run.

18:57 It's not often in recent times that a Lotus has been the fastest car on track in F1. Take a bow Pastor Maldonado, who has the E23 lapping in the 1m24s and is thus the fastest man out there right now.

18:53 Sainz is pressing on in the Toro Rosso - locked up under-braking for the first corner but made the turn.

18:51 Rosberg breaks the spell and heads back to the pits briefly. Ricciardo is the quickest man on the circuit during this bust spell - lapping in the 1m24s. Raikkonen and Maldonado are in the 25s.

18:48 Massa decides he wants to have some fun too, so for the first time at this test we've got seven cars on track simultaneously.

18:47 The track is getting busier as we enter the final 15 minutes of running. Only Massa's Williams and the parked McLaren-Honda remain in the pits.

18:44 Raikkonen rejoins the action in the Ferrari, while Ricciardo sets a personal best in the second sector this time but again falls a fraction short of beating his best laptime.

18:43 Looks as though Rosberg has stopped in the pits properly now with 145 laps on the board. Daniel Ricciardo sets a personal best third sector but falls a tenth shy of beating the RB11's best time of the day.

18:42 Rosberg is repeatedly ducking in and out of the pits at the moment in the Mercedes.

18:37 Another quick pit visit for Rosberg. He needs to complete another 16 laps to top his monster day-one total.

18:36 The other Felipe (Massa) is currently the fastest man out there at the moment, though - lapping in the 1m24s.

18:34 Pace-setter Nasr is on a long run according to the Sauber team.
@SauberF1Team: "#FN12 is still on top of the time sheet, now on a longer run."

18:33 Massa and Rosberg rejoin Nasr, Maldonado and Sainz on the track. Less than 30 minutes to go now on day three.

18:30

Kimi Raikkonen testing at Jerez

Raikkonen is back into the pits too now, ending another decent stint for the SF15-T.

18:24 Ricciardo comes back into the pits, leaving Raikkonen in peace.

18:22 That's a shame - Ricciardo has had enough of chasing the Ferrari and he finally backs off, now cruising down the middle of the backstraight.

18:20 Raikkonen continues to go about his business without a care for the Red Bull that's filling his mirrors. We're not saying he should jump out of the way - Ricciardo could quite easily find some clear space by backing off if he was that bothered. We're just enjoying seeing two of the top teams running round together for several laps.

18:17 Maldonado improves to a 1m22.7s, but he stays fifth.

Ricciardo continues to shadow Raikkonen on track, but he's yet to get any co-operation from the Finn in terms of letting the Red Bull go.

18:14 Personal best times through the first and third sectors get Rosberg into the 1m21s for the first time today, but he stays third.

18:11 Ricciardo is catching Raikkonen on track at the moment. They're only separated by a couple of seconds, and the Red Bull was 0.5s quicker last time around.

18:06 Raikkonen rejoins the action, while Ricciardo tries to make up for a lot of lost ground for Red Bull over the last couple of days by finally stringing a few laps together in succession.

18:03

Daniel Ricciardo testing at Jerez

Tiny improvement (0.019s) for Ricciardo in the Red Bull. He's still seventh, only ahead of the McLaren that is not running again today due to engine problems.

18:02 We've had plenty of questions on the variety of nose solutions on F1 cars this year.

CRAIG SCARBOROUGH: "There are two aspects to a nose cone, aero and structure, and many teams run a long nose as its easier to crash test. By passing the tests early with a long nose they have a solution 'in the bag' and can work on more extreme designs.

"On the aero side the nose can be used in different ways to create or manage other airflows. Either can be good and it isn't really a big performance differentiator.

"Many teams will have a second-generation nose for early in the season, I suspect the trend will be towards noses as short as the rules allow, only just clinging to the front wing."

17:59 Ricciardo takes the rarely-seen (today) Red Bull out for another run.

17:56 Small improvement for Sainz, who gets down to a 1m23.187s on softs.

17:54 Massa locks up into Turn 1, but it looks like he still just about made the apex.

17:53 Massa and Maldonado are circulating, and Sainz re-appears after yet another brief spell in the pits.

17:49 Here's an update on the lap count for today:

Rosberg (Mercedes) 125
Sainz (Toro Rosso) 101
Nasr (Sauber) 83
Raikkonen (Ferrari) 65
Maldonado (Lotus) 63
Massa (Williams) 58
Alonso (McLaren) 32
Ricciardo (Red Bull) 18

17:48 Sainz returns to the pits.

17:45 BEN ANDERSON reports from trackside that Maldonado has skipped the chicane towards the end of the lap.

17:45 And Raikkonen heads back out.

17:45 Raikkonen is back in, leaving only Maldonado, Sainz and Ricciardo on circuit.

17:43 Maldonado is on the soft-compound Pirellis.

17:41 ‏@reb_marco asks: "#askautosport Do you think the pullrod suspension on the Ferrari will hurt the setup of Vettel and Raikkonen? Are both not highly sensitive front-end drivers?

CRAIG SCARBOROUGH: "I don’t believe push or pullrod is the deciding factor in front-end feel for a driver, wishbone angles and spring/damper sets are more influential. I don’t see a problem for Ferrari continuing with their pullrod front-end."

17:41 Sainz improves to sixth, 1m23.417s.

17:40 Raikkonen goes second fastest on a 1m21.750s. That time is on medium tyres.