03/03/2016
NEWS STORY
If there's one man that hates being in the spotlight, it's Kimi Raikkonen. However, the laconic Finn was thrust firmly into it this morning when he headed down the Barcelona pitlane, his SF16-H sporting a prototype halo device which in turn sported a couple of sponsor logos (natch!).
At the end of his installation lap the Finn quickly headed to his garage, as did the media, to get their first pictures of Ferrari's version of the safety device due to be introduced next year, and get his opinion.
"OK," he mumbled, when asked about visibility, "let's wait and see".
He subsequently opened up to the FIA, revealing that his "first impression on the visibility test" was "positive".
"The structure does not hamper visibility," he told officials.
"Massive safety improvement," added Nico Rosberg on Twitter. "It will look ok too eventually. I'm all for it!"
Shortly after he was back doing what he enjoys doing best, driving a racing car, free of the media and hangers on.
Minus the halo he got things going with a 27.607 to go quickest, but it was when he bolted on the ultrasofts that the pace ramped up.
The subsequent 22.765 is the quickest time of the entire test, however, on pitting it was noticeable that there was heavy graining to the left front.
Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen also tried the new ultrasoft rubber, which accounts for their presence in the top three alongside Raikkonen.
Clearly unmoved, Nico Rosberg continued with the mediums, quietly, and without fanfare, adding a further 81 laps to the W07's already impressive tally.
After a troubled day yesterday, Sauber looked a little better this morning, as did McLaren, where Fernando Alonso was back on duty.
After two torrid days of testing, Haas were finally back on track, Romain Grosjean completing 59 laps.
However, as was the case on Monday, when Alonso brought out the red flags in the moments before the break, so too Grosjean made it an early 'end of play' when he went off at T5. Initial fears that he had clouted the barrier, thus presenting his crew with more work, proved incorrect.
Massa was last out to play, whilst at Red Bull Daniil Kvyat repeated the programme carried out by teammate Daniel Ricciardo yesterday morning, the Russian and his crew carrying out numerous practice pit stops.
Midday Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Tyres | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | US | 41 | 1:22.765 | 125.814 mph |
| Hulkenberg | Force India | US | 49 | 1:23.251 | 0.486 |
| Verstappen | Toro Rosso | US | 59 | 1:23.382 | 0.617 |
| Rosberg | Mercedes | M | 81 | 1:24.126 | 1.361 |
| Nasr | Sauber | S | 37 | 1:24.760 | 1.995 |
| Alonso | McLaren | SS | 57 | 1:24.870 | 2.105 |
| Kvyat | Red Bull | S | 62 | 1:25.141 | 2.376 |
| Massa | Williams | M | 46 | 1:25.420 | 2.655 |
| Palmer | Renault | M | 26 | 1:27.182 | 4.417 |
| Grosjean | Haas | M | 59 | 1:28.110 | 5.345 |
| Wehrlein | Manor | M | 19 | 1:28.476 | 5.711 |
Check out our Thursday gallery, here.