Testing underway once more at Jerez

The third of four pre-season tests began on Wednesday morning at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. After wet weather limited everyone’s running at the same track last week, the teams are no doubt hoping for a little sunny respite, but the forecast looks just as bleak and rainy for this week’s four-day session.

One bright spot will be provided by Lotus, who will test for the first time amongst their rivals following the T127’s launch in London last week. Test driver Fairuz Fauzy is scheduled to take the green and yellow-liveried car out on Wednesday, before handing it over to team mate Heikki Kovalainen for two days. Jarno Trulli will then get his first chance behind the wheel on Saturday.

And there should be much else to take note of during the test. Force India’s new reserve driver Paul di Resta is expected to enjoy his first outing in the VJM03, before team mates Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi take over for the rest of the test. After struggling to chalk up much mileage last week, Virgin will also be back in action testing the VR01.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton will be eager to carry on where he left off, after clocking the quickest time of last week’s test with a best lap of 1m 19.583s, as he takes charge of the MP4-25 over the opening two days of the session. Team mate Jenson Button will drive from Friday. Ferrari incumbent Felipe Massa will also take charge of his team’s programme during the opening two days before handing the F10 over to new team mate Fernando Alonso on Friday.

Pedro de la Rosa will test for two days in BMW Sauber’s C29, before team mate Kamui Kobayashi steps in, whilst Renault’s Vitaly Petrov will drive the R30 on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of team mate Robert Kubica’s time in the car. Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s programmes are similar, with Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi set to test the RB6 and the STR5 respectively on the first two days, before their stable mates Mark Webber and Jaime Alguersuari take the wheel.

Williams too plan to field Rubens Barrichello for two days, and Nico Hulkenberg for two days. Mercedes, however, are understood to have opted to let their drivers take to the track on alternate days. Michael Schumacher will be in the MGP W01 on Wednesday and Friday, whilst his team mate Nico Rosberg will test on Thursday and Saturday.