03/03/2013
NEWS STORY
As rivals were still scratching their heads at Lewis Hamilton's pace on Saturday, Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg went even quicker this morning, the German posting a 1:20.130, almost half-a-second quicker.
However, Fernando Alonso refuses to get left behind, the Spaniard, watched by some of the team's top brass on the final day of running before Melbourne, closing to within 0.364s of the Silver Arrow.
Recovered from his stomach bug, today Kimi Raikkonen has been sidelined for much of the morning by a sick gearbox, the Finn 's running coming to an end after just 7 laps, two hours into the session.
With conditions almost ideal, considering the time of the year, this afternoon will see some frantic activity as the teams try updates that were still arriving at the circuit this morning.
Midday Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Rosberg | Mercedes | 53 | 1:20.130 | 129.954 mph |
| Alonso | Ferrari | 64 | 1:20.494 | 0.364 |
| Button | McLaren | 44 | 1:21.444 | 1.314 |
| Hulkenberg | Sauber | 46 | 1:21.541 | 1.411 |
| Di Resta | Force India | 38 | 1:21.664 | 1.534 |
| Maldonado | Williams | 42 | 1:22.415 | 2.285 |
| Vettel | Red Bull | 59 | 1:22.514 | 2.384 |
| Pic | Caterham | 53 | 1:23.115 | 2.985 |
| Bianchi | Marussia | 62 | 1:23.167 | 3.037 |
| Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 46 | 1:23.628 | 3.498 |
| Raikkonen | Lotus | 7 | 1:24.396 | 4.266 |
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.