Hamilton fastest on Day 4 in Barcelona

In cool and damp conditions Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in his Mercedes AMG during F1 testing in Barcelona overnight. Rain and red flags caused as many as eight interruptions throughout the day.

The 2008 world champion posted his best lap (1:23.282) in the morning session on medium compound tyres. Former teammate Jenson Button (McLaren, 1:23.633) was second quickest ahead of Jean-Eric-Vergne (Toro Rosso, 1:24.071).

Mark Webber (Red Bull, 1:27.616) could only manage the eighth quickest lap. Although, he later claimed it was still a fruitful day. “We got a lot of good stuff done today. The boys did a great job—the best I’ve seen them, I think, so all credit to them,” he said.

Day 4 times were well down on the rest of the week, which saw Sergio Perez (McLaren, 1:21.848) claim the fastest lap of the week on Day 2, narrowly ahead of Fernando Alonso’s (Ferrari, 1:21.875) best on Day 3.

Speaking after Day 4 Hamilton sounded a little frustrated at the conditions, but overall he seems happy with the progress being made with his new team.

“The conditions today meant that we didn’t complete as many laps we would have done in the dry but we have gone through the test items that we wanted to achieve this week.

“We have been working on our consistency over long runs and we managed one run this morning on dry tyres; the car felt okay but the conditions were also very cool, so we cannot draw too many conclusions.

“From a personal point of view, my relationship with the team is growing all the time and it’s going really well. I’m happy working with the guys, we are working in the right direction together and I’m pushing to extract the most from the team, just like they are with me.”

Pre-season testing resumes back in Barcelona next week (28 February–3 March).

2013 F1 pre-season testing – Barcelona I (Day 4)

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes – 1:23.282 (52 laps)
2. Jenson Button McLaren – 1:23.633 +0.351 (70 laps)
3. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso – 1:24.071 +0.789 (80 laps)
4. Jules Bianchi Force India – 1:25.732 +2.450 (96 laps)
5. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber – 1:26.239 +1.957 (61 laps)
6. Giedo van der Garde Caterham – 1:27.429 +4.147 (50 laps)
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari – 1:27.563 +4.281 (80 laps)
8. Mark Webber Red Bull – 1:27.616 +4.334 (64 laps)
9. Max Chilton Marussia – 1:29.902 +6.620 (51 laps)
10. Romain Grosjean Lotus – 1:34.800 +11.518 (41 laps)
11. Valtteri Bottas Williams – no time (23 laps)
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams – no time (13 laps)

2013 F1 pre-season testing – Barcelona I (Day 3)

1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 1:21.875 (97 laps)
2. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber – 1:22.160 +0.285 (91 laps)
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus – 1:22.188 +0.313 (119 laps)
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes – 1:22.611 +0.736 (108 laps)
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams – 1:22.675 +0.800 (79 laps)
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams – 1:22.826 +0.951 (68 laps)
7. Jenson Button McLaren – 1:22.840 +0.965 (71 laps)
8. Adrian Sutil Force India – 1:22.877 +1.002 (78 laps)
9. Mark Webber Red Bull – 1:23.024 +1.149 (108 laps)
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso – 1:23.366 +1.491 (106 laps)
11. Max Chilton Marussia – 1:25.690 +3.815 (58 laps)
12. Giedo van der Garde Caterham – 1:26.177 +4.302 (93 laps)

2013 F1 pre-season testing – Barcelona I (Day 2)

1. Sergio Perez McLaren – 1:21.848 (97 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull – 1:22.197 +0.349 (84 laps)
3. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus – 1:22.697 +0.849 (43 laps)
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes – 1:22.726 +0.878 (121 laps)
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 1:23.247 +1.399 (76 laps)
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams – 1:23.561 +1.713 (98 laps)
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso – 1:23.718 +1.870 (70 laps)
8. Paul di Resta Force India – 1:23.971 +2.123 (62 laps)
9. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber – 1:24.205 +2.357 (88 laps)
10. Max Chilton Marussia – 1:25.115 +3.267 (67 laps)
11. Charles Pic Caterham – 1:26.243 +4.395 (102 laps)

2013 F1 pre-season testing – Barcelona I (Day 1)

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes – 1:22.616 (54 laps)
2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus – 1:22.672 +0.007 (44 laps)
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 1:22.952 +0.336 (110 laps)
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull – 1:22.965 +0.349 (66 laps)
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams – 1:23.733 +1.117 (86 laps)
6. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso – 1:23.884 +1.268 (73 laps)
7. Sergio Perez McLaren – 1:24.124 +1.508 (77 laps)
8. Paul di Resta Force India – 1:24.144 +1.528 (82 laps)
9. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber – 1:25.124 +2.508 (68 laps)
10. Max Chilton Marussia – 1:26.747 +4.131 (65 laps)
11. Charles Pic Caterham – 1:27.534 +4.918 (49 laps)

All timing unofficial.