01/03/2014
NEWS STORY
Felipe Massa topped the timesheets as the teams broke for lunch on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The Grove outfit, which has been attracting positive publicity not only on the track but away from it, courtesy of some strong commercial partnerships and recruitment of personnel, is widely being seen as a dark horse this season.
Not so Red Bull, where Sebastian Vettel has had a nightmare morning. Stopping just four turns into his first lap it was enough to cause a "hissy fit".
Problems also for Adrian Sutil, who along with Vettel, has yet to complete a lap far less post a competitive time.
In a change to its original plan, Caterham has Marcus Ericsson back in the car today before giving it over to Kamui Kobayashi for the final day on Sunday. The Swede completed 69 laps this morning finishing just 4.6s off the pace and ahead of the Marussia and Lotus.
Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg have both had issues, Mercedes yet to enjoy a trouble free day this week, however, as the German team admits; "that's what testing is for".
Behind Massa, Force India, which has Nico Hulkenberg on duty, continues to impress, whilst Toro Rosso is having an altogether better day of it today.
Midday Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Massa | Williams | 46 | 1:37.224 | 124.523 mph |
| Hulkenberg | Force India | 42 | 1:38.000 | 0.776 |
| Rosberg | Mercedes | 22 | 1:38.557 | 1.333 |
| Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 41 | 1:39.297 | 2.073 |
| Magnussen | McLaren | 24 | 1:40.252 | 3.028 |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | 9 | 1:41.542 | 4.318 |
| Ericsson | Caterham | 69 | 1:41.849 | 4.625 |
| Bianchi | Marussia | 55 | 1:41.889 | 4.665 |
| Grosjean | Lotus | 4 | 1:43.088 | 5.864 |
| Vettel | Red Bull | 1 | No Time | |
| Sutil | Sauber | 1 | No Time |
Check out our Saturday gallery, here.
Chris Balfe