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Barcelona second pre-season test Test day three

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Sutil

Sutil


Pictures from the morning starting to filter in, here's Sutil back in a Force India.
Lap tally for the first hour: Maldonado 9, Webber 13, Grosjean 10, van der Garde 10, Chilton 6, Rosberg 8, Vergne 12, Alonso 6, Sutil 5, Button 4, Hulkenberg 4.
We've all agreed there would be nothing wrong with a beige racing car.
Television's @willbuxton is still sad about GP2 and GP3 liveries. Even his scarf looks downcast.
Back in the real world of F1, Maldonado sets a new fastest time of 1m22.675s.
After a late night conversation about A1GP in the AUTOSPORT triple-height bunkbed, Edd dreamed the nation-versus-nation series was revived. With Will Power and Mark Webber sharing the Team Australia car, Maldonado driving for Team Colombia (err...?), sometime works Proton BTCC driver Farique Hairuman driving for Malaysia, and the season starting at Sentul in Indonesia.
Webber brings the Red Bull in, pops behind the secrecy screens, revs hard then switches the engine off.
The Red Bull is using medium tyres. Webber continues round in 1m27.1s.
Webber continues round with a 1m26.533s. Just the two Red Bull teams on track now with Vergne also in action.
Not quite, Webber is slower in the final sector and does a 1m26.145s.
New fastest times in the first two sectors for Webber so expect a change at the top.
Webber's pace is more representative, as he does a 1m26.346s to trim Maldonado's lead to 0.6s.
Grosjean improves to a 1m31.001s, going third, although times still mean little.
Also in @eddstrawF1's dream were an IndyCar title contender and a man who took a best finish of 11th in his sole British Touring Car season.
About an hour left to get your questions in for Esteban Gutierrez. Email live@autosport.com or tweet with the hashtag #AUTOSPORTLive
Maldonado hands over to #BOTTAS for an afternoon of MAXIMUM ATTACK (and dutiful data gathering) later
No lull right now though, we have Maldonado, Chilton, Rosberg, Alonso and Sutil in action on the circuit.
(When there's lull, we'll tell you about @eddstrawF1's dream last night. Not for ego reasons, but because many motorsport fans reading might go "yes, that would be cool if it was real")
Now Maldonado steals the top spot away with a 1m25.671s.
Maldonado begins his flying laps with a 1m26.807s to go second, 0.2s behind Webber.
Van der Garde deposes Chilton, but only for moments before Webber hits the front on a 1m27.385s.
Chilton sets the fastest time so far with a 1m35.802s.
Anyone following television's @willbuxton on Twitter should know that when he tweets about underwhelming GP3 liveries, his sadness is real.
Now joined by van der Garde for what could be a thrilling head to head between F1's tail-end squabblers.
Hulkenberg could be on a flying lap now, although his Sauber only sounded moderately purposeful (definitely lower case) not MAXIMUM ATTACK past the pits.
Everyone has now done at least one installation lap, with Rosberg and Grosjean racking up four each, but Rosberg's aero-test-cruising 1m54s is the only time so far.

By: Matt Beer, Sam Tremayne

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