Fauzy on track with Lotus

The third and penultimate tests ahead of the new season got underway this morning at Jerez with damp conditions once again greeting the teams.

The ten teams taking part in testing last week have been joined by the new Lotus Cosworth team this week as they give their new Cosworth-powered T127 chassis its maiden run. Test and reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy was given the honour of driving the new car for the first time as the team notched up an impressive 46 laps over the morning.

Felipe Massa is back on track for Ferrari, running the team’s second chassis for the first time. The Italian team reports that the F10 remains largely unchanged and they are aiming for various aerodynamic updates for the final test in Barcelona. The team were however keen on covering the rear end of the car when in the pits, suggesting a new diffuser is now in place.

As conditions improved, Massa moved to the head of the timesheets with a best lap of 1:25.742s, roughly six seconds off the best full-dry times recorded last week. Lewis Hamilton was second fastest despite a mechanical problem that stranded the MP4-25 on track early this morning.

Pedro de la Rosa and Sauber Ferrari continue to show well today with the third fastest time ahead of Red Bull Renault driver Sebastian Vettel. Rubens Barrichello had a busy morning in his Williams Cosworth, putting in 78 laps despite a problem that forced him to stop on track while Paul di Resta had his first run in the new Force India Mercedes.

The test and reserve driver had a spin mid-morning but was able to continue without too much drama and is currently sixth fastest ahead of Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Buemi and Vitaly Petrov.

Fairuz Fauzy was tenth best in the new Lotus ahead of the struggling Virgin Cosworth team, which was only able to complete four timed laps with Timo Glock behind the wheel.

Testing continues this afternoon as conditions continue to improve. A full report to follow...