Renault's Fernando Alonso was quickest on the third day of testing at Barcelona, however, it was Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais who attracted all the attention having wrecked the new STR3 just hours after its unveiling.

After a grey morning at the Circuit de Catalunya, the sun burnt through the clouds in the afternoon but it remained cool. Rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Fernando Alonso remained in the car for his second day of running this week and completed a programme of set-up work before taking the opportunity to sample slick tyres just before lunch. The Spaniard immediately set the fastest time which remained unbeaten until the conclusion of the session.

Nelson Piquet returns to the cockpit tomorrow for the final day of testing, the Brazilian looking to build on the work he did with the team earlier in the week, although rain showers are expected to disrupt the final day.

"The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car," said Alonso. "But we still need to keep improving because it seems that our competitors have also improved and so it is still difficult to say how we really compare with them. We have to wait until next week to get a full picture of where we stand. It was fun to try the slick tyres, which gave very good grip."

"We did some set-up work in the morning as part of our preparation for the Grand Prix and took a look at the slick tyres just before lunch," added Christian Silk. "Overall we are happy with the way the test is developing, although the weather forecast for tomorrow is not very good, but we have had three good days and completed most of what we wanted to achieve."

Second quickest was seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, who took over from Felipe Massa for Ferrari. The German's programme centred on trying various different types of Bridgestone tyre aimed at 2009, using an F2008 modified to try and reproduce the levels of aerodynamic downforce expected next season.

World Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen takes over tomorrow for the final day of testing.

Force India's Adrian Sutil was third quickest, the Italian taking over from Giancarlo Fisichella who was second quickest on Tuesday. The German's best lap, a 1:19.424, was set on slick tyres with 2008 aero, and was just 0.101s slower than the time set by Schumacher. As with Liuzzi and Fisichella on the previous two days, Sutil ran with 2008 tyres and aero configuration in the morning to test settings for next week's Grand Prix, and also tried 'slick' tyres in preparation for their reintroduction next season.

The test team will now return to the factory in Silverstone to integrate this week's findings into race team preparations for the Spanish Grand Prix.

"I was quite happy with today," said Sutil. "We did a lot of running, which wasn't bad considering the small problem we had in the morning, and the car has improved a lot since the last time we were here in February. I think it looks good for the race. I also tried out slicks, which was my first time this year, and was really impressed. The grip is just amazing, especially in the last sector, but it is also very physical on your neck muscles. I'm looking forward to it already!"

"A useful day to finish what has been a very productive test," added Mike Gascoyne. "We had a minor clutch problem in the morning that caused a small delay in running, but we nevertheless completed the day's programme. Adrian tested the 2008 configuration in the morning in preparation for next week's race and also ran on a couple of sets of 2009 tyres. Overall, the test has been very useful, we've finished our scheduled work and we look in good shape for the Grand Prix."