Lotus driver Romain Grosjean topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at Jerez, clocking a 1:18.218 to overtake Jenson Button as the overall pace-setter for the week. Paul di Resta wound up three quarters of a second adrift in second place, while Lewis Hamilton ended his day in the barriers after just 15 laps.
Similar conditions to those experienced 24 hours ago greeted the drivers this morning, with a cold start soon passing amid clear blue skies. One of the biggest stories of the day came before the on-track action started, with 2012 GP2 runner-up Luiz Razia being announced as Max Chilton's team-mate at the Marussia F1 Team.
Soon after the news broke, it was time for the test to continue. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo caused a brief red flag period early on, before the field set about their first full runs of the day. However, there was drama for Hamilton at the two-hour mark when his F1 W04 lost rear brake pressure, leading him straight into the barriers at Turn 6. The accident, which damaged the car's front wing and suspension arms, left Mercedes with no choice but to end early for the second consecutive day.
Following Hamilton's return to the pit lane, Grosjean set about delivering his promise of an 'even better' E21 performance. He wasted little time in moving to the top of the timing screens, a position he would hold and improve upon throughout the day. His personal best effort, putting him comfortably clear of nearest rivals di Resta and Ricciardo, was 0.643 seconds quicker than Button managed on Tuesday afternoon.
A little further back, Webber kept a low profile in the new RB9, racking up a total of 101 laps before his team-mate Sebastian Vettel steps into the car tomorrow morning. The Red Bull man finished just ahead of Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg and the sidelined Hamilton, while McLaren's Sergio Pérez got accustomed to his new surroundings with a series of medium-length stints in the MP4-28 chassis.
Felipe Massa, who set the eighth quickest time of the day, spent his afternoon testing a number of exhaust systems on the F138. Fellow South American Pastor Maldonado completed tyre and component evaluations in the 2012 Williams, while James Rossiter made a late appearance to begin Force India's simulator correlation. Rookies Giedo van der Garde and Luiz Razia brought up the rear, the latter losing the afternoon session after grinding to a halt on the pit-straight with an engine problem.
Pre-season testing continues at the Circuito de Jerez at 9am local time (GMT +1) on Thursday and can be followed via the GPUpdate.net Live Report feature
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  R. Grosjean | 01:18.218 | 95 |
| 2. | P. di Resta | 01:19.003 | 95 |
| 3. | D. Ricciardo | 01:19.134 | 83 |
| 4. | M. Webber | 01:19.338 | 101 |
| 5. | N. Hulkenberg | 01:19.502 | 99 |
| 6. | L. Hamilton | 01:19.519 | 15 |
| 7. | S. Perez | 01:19.572 | 81 |
| 8. | F. Massa | 01:19.914 | 78 |
| 9. | P. Maldonado | 01:20.693 | 71 |
| 10. | J. Rossiter | 01:21.273 | 19 |
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| Romain Grosjean | |||
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| More Romain Grosjean photos | |||
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