Pérez tops penultimate day at Barcelona

F1 Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya

Sergio Pérez topped the timesheets on the one but last day of testing in Barcelona. Button went second fastest, ahead of Ricciardo. All fast times of the day were set before noon because long runs and rain dominated the afternoon.

Contrary to Friday, the weather at Barcelona was great at the start of the session, hence it started on time.

The lack of red flags also meant drivers could do a lot of laps, mostly short runs to improve set-up. The only man in a bit of trouble seemed to be Kimi Räikkönen with the Lotus. In the first two runs he felt uncomfortable with the car, after which the team decided to change the power steering.

Once this was done, there were just 10 minutes left on the clock before noon, but at least the problem had been resolved to his liking.

Pérez by that time set the fastest lap, going around the Spanish circuit in 1:22.094, marginally faster than Button for McLaren and Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso.

The afternoon started again with several race simulations, including those start by Di Resta, Massa, Ricciardo and Rosberg, but came to a premature end when it started raining at 15:30. Most cars returned to the pitlane, never to return to the track again.

Ferrari, Mercedes and Sauber were the few teams who had a go with Pirelli's intermediate tyres.

This left Pérez time unbeaten, topping the timesheets after having a Lotus on top twice. Button is second and Ricciardo third fastest.