22/02/2012
NEWS STORY
The German, who has completed 63 laps, heads Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso, all covered by just 1.032s.
For much of the morning, Vettel was the pace-setter, however, having already closed the gap, the Force India driver went quickest when he switched to super-softs shortly before the lunch break. Perez' quickest time, which saw the Mexican go second, was also set on the super-soft rubber.
While much of the talk this morning has centred on Lotus withdrawal from the test, most paddock experts agreeing that the British team is playing down the seriousness of the problem, media attention has also focussed on Vitaly Petrov, the Russian making his debut for Caterham.
Busiest man this morning was Nico Rosberg, the German completing 75 laps in the Mercedes which was only unveiled yesterday morning.
Mid-Session Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Hulkenberg | Force India | 63 | 1:22.608 | 126.056 mph |
| Perez | Sauber | 51 | 1:22.648 | 0.040 |
| Vettel | Red Bull | 31 | 1:22.891 | 0.283 |
| Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 45 | 1:23.639 | 1.031 |
| Alonso | Ferrari | 52 | 1:23.640 | 1.032 |
| Hamilton | McLaren | 45 | 1:24.070 | 1.462 |
| Rosberg | Mercedes | 75 | 1:24.555 | 1.947 |
| Bottas | Williams | 69 | 1:25.858 | 3.250 |
| Petrov | Caterham | 36 | 1:26.605 | 3.997 |
| Pic | Marussia | 47 | 1:28.092 | 5.484 |
Check out our Wednesday gallery, here.