Hülkenberg with the best time

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg drove only partial training on the third day, with Nico Hülkenberg being the best. While Sebastian Vettel was the fastest for the first two days, Hülkenberg did well yesterday.

As said, Mercedes decided not to drive all the laps and split the testing between the two racers, yesterday’s training was taken advantage of by Carlos Sainz jr. from the Toro Rosso team, who drove 161 laps. "I suggested the change myself because it makes it easier for me to focus on the car and the ride," Rosberg commented on the change in plans for yesterday's training.

Nevertheless, the Mercedes car proves its reliability, driving as many as 172 laps on Tuesday. “Tuesday’s training was actually too much for me and in the end I was no longer able to concentrate fully,” Rosberg described Tuesday’s testing. Hamilton drove 156 laps on Monday. With this, the team also proved that the reliability of the car is still their domain and advantage.

Kimi Räikkönen had his first test day yesterday and thus replaced Sebastian Vettl, who tested on Monday and Tuesday. However, Räikkönen had problems with the car, according to them it was the cause of the problems in the fuel system, and so he spent most of the day in boxing. In the afternoon part of the training, he achieved the third best time with his SF-16. However, it must be acknowledged that in training the teams try several different settings and the amount of fuel is not the same for everyone.

Newcomer Rio Haryanto from the Manor team, who was also accompanied by his parents in training, also recorded his first kilometers. After a couple of laps, he slipped off the track and landed in the sand, and he could not compete with the others in terms of speed. Nevertheless, he completed 78 laps on the first day.

Third day of training in Barcelona:

1. Nico Hülkenberg Force India 1'23.110
   2. Romain Grosjean Haas 1'25.874
   3. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1'25.977
   4. Kevin Magnussen Renault 1'26.014
   5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1'26.084
   6. Carlos Sainz Jnr Toro Rosso 1'26.239
   7. Felipe Nasr Sauber 1'26.392
   8. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'26.421
   9. Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1'26.497
   10. Felipe Massa Williams 1'26.712
   11. Jenson Button McLaren 1'26.919
   12. Rio Haryanto Manor 1'28.249