Barcelona, Day Four: Lewis Hamilton dodges showers and red flags to end test on top

Lewis Hamilton finished at the top of the timesheet for the first time as a Mercedes driver on the final day at Barcelona, but intermittent rain and an incredible eight red flags - one of which was caused by the Mercedes driver himself - reduced the significance of Friday's running.

Having known all week his sole day at Barcelona in the VJM06 was likely to be wet, Bianchi importantly enjoyed an error-free session and managed 54 laps for Force India as the team continue to deliberate whether they appoint the Frenchman, or Adrian Sutil, as Paul di Resta's team-mate. With Ferrari, Red Bull and Lotus all appearing to run heavier on fuel than either Mercedes or McLaren when the track was dry, Caterham's van der Garde managed to finish in the heady heights of seventh place despite the Dutchman having brought proceedings to a halt for a second time just before lunch when he pulled over in the CT03. Gutierrez was another driver to bring out two red flags - the second time when he spun in the wetter afternoon conditions at Turn Four - but still managed to complete more laps than anyone during the day with 96. "It was a very interesting day for me as well as for the team, because it was important to get some experience in wet conditions," the Mexican said. "For me it was the very first time I had driven a Formula 1 car in the wet. It was particularly interesting in the morning, when the track was wet to begin with and then started to dry out. I was able to drive with dry tyres in very tricky conditions, which was a situation I could experience in a race." Having completed more laps than anybody with their new FW35 over the first three days, Williams took Day Four's poor weather as their cue to complete sustained pitstop practice, with neither morning driver Valtteri Bottas (23 laps) nor his afternoon replacement Pastor Maldonado (13 laps) recording a timed effort. Two further stoppages inside the closing 30 minutes, Hamilton between Turns Six and Seven, and Bianchi on the pit straight, eventually brought by far the most incident-filled day of the winter so far to a stuttering close. Day Four Timesheet:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:23.282, 52 laps (M).
2. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:23.633, 70 laps (M).
3. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:24.071, 80 laps (S).
4. Jules Bianchi, Force India, 1:25.732, 61 laps (M).
5 Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:26.239, 96 laps (M).
6. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham, 1:27.429, 50 laps.
7. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:27.553, 77 laps (M).
8. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:27.616, 64 laps (M).
9. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:29.902, 51 laps.
10. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:34.800, 41 laps (H).
11. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, No time, 23 laps.
12. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, No Time, 13 laps.