Mugello, Day 3: Grosjean ends Mugello test fastest

After an eventful morning session, which saw Sergio Perez suffer a small fire in the pit-lane and Fernando Alonso crash his Ferrari, Romain Grosjean has ended the Mugello test fastest in the afternoon session. Sebastian Vettel finished 2nd, with Alonso back in 3rd after suffering a disastrous end to the morning period.

The afternoon session began in similar circumstances to how the morning session ended, with a red flag coming out not too long after the break for Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn had embedded his Caterham in the gravel at turn 1, causing a momentary delay for the proceedings.

After Force India decided to run Paul di Resta in the morning session, German Nico Hulkenberg made his first track appearance of the test week in the afternoon. The Force India driver’s first timed lap left him in 6th place, just ahead of his team-mate.

Romain Grosjean then flew to the top with a 01:21.159, around a tenth faster than the reigning World Champion of Sebastian Vettel. The Frenchman then increased the gap to the Red Bull driver, with a 01:21.035. Lotus opted to run only one of their drivers’ at the Mugello test, alongside their reserve driver Jerome D’Ambrosio. The aim being to focus only on one driver after the unpredictable weather experienced on day one.

With just over an hour of running remaining, there was a short red flag as Sergio Perez ground to a halt whilst exiting the pit-lane. The Mexican endured a highly eventful final day of testing, after his Sauber momentarily caught fire in the pits during the morning session.

Daniel Ricciardo finished an impressive 4th overall, with Perez ending his eventful day 5th in front of the Force India of Hulkenberg. Pastor Maldonado was able to finish 7th, after electrical issues plagued his car early in the morning.

The F1 fraternity will now pack up and head to Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya for the fifth round of the Formula 1 World Championship.

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