1650:Sarah Holt's report from the Circuit de Catalunya is now live, so why not have a read. I'll be back at pretty much the same time tomorrow with the live text commentary of day three. Adios.

1645: One more line before I sign off for the day. McLaren have announced the return of Pedro de la Rosa as their official test and reserve driver. has driven 84 grands prix for Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren-Mercedes and BMW-Sauber. The 40-year-old Spaniard has driven 84 grands prix for Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and BMW-Sauber. "Of all the teams I've driven for in Formula 1, McLaren is the one that really feels like home," said De la Rosa. "So I'm very excited about returning to the team to help push the development of the MP4-26." McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: "I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say that I'm delighted that Pedro has chosen to return to McLaren. "He rejoins us with even greater experience, and his motivation and attention to detail remain as sharp as ever. His recruitment adds considerable strength in depth to our driver line-up. With two world champion race drivers in Lewis and Jenson, and two of the world's most experienced and capable development drivers in Pedro and Gary [Paffett], we feel we have a quartet of talent that is absolutely second-to-none."

Force India on Twitter: "End of day 2 - Paul has done 118 laps with no major problems. All good and programme completed. Adrian takes over tomorrow."

Williams F1 on Twitter: "Day one done, time lost in pits due to Kers fault which the team are still investigating, hopefully we'll get a lot more running in tomorrow."

Mercedes GP on Twitter: "End of our first day in Barcelona and 100 laps completed for Nico. Read his thoughts on the website shortly..."

1610: Now then, let's take a last look at the timesheets. Vettel steals the show with a lap of one minute 21.865 seconds, which is 0.531 seconds better than Sebastien Buemi's 1:22.396. Vitaly Petrov (1:22.670) and Lewis Hamilton (1:22.888) finish in the 1.22s and Felipe Massa (1:23.324) makes the top five. Paul Di Resta (1:24.334) is sixth, Kobayashi (1:24.436) seventh and Rosberg (1:25.807) eighth. Jerno Trulli (1:26.090), Pastor Maldonado (1:26.989) and Jerome D'Ambrosio (1:28.982) comprise the bottom three.

1600: And there I was expecting late drama. Vitaly Petrov brings his Renault to a halt at Turn 6, which means a fifth RED FLAG and the end of the session. So, Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest time on day two of the final pre-season test event. Just as team-mate Mark Webber did yesterday, reinforcing the impression that defending champions Red Bull appear to be the class the field.

1550: Quite a bit of pit stop practice taking place as the session draws towards a close. Only those who have struggled today - McLaren, Williams and Virgin - are focusing on longer stints as they desperately seek track time. The race distance at the Spanish Grand Prix is 66 laps and Hamilton, Maldonado and D'Ambrosio are the only men yet to reach that figure.

thejudge13 on Twitter: "McLaren Fans should not be too dismayed. Last 3 winners in Melbourne are: 2010 J Button, 2009 J Button 2008 L Hamilton. And with highly unpredictable tyre wear and strategy, the fastest car will probably not win anyway."

BBC Sport's Andrew Benson: "In response therealwaterboy's question, McLaren are not missing it - they've just decided to test on Saturday instead. Each team can only do four days, so with McLaren starting on Tuesday, they either have to stop on Friday or miss a day and stop on Saturday."

therealwaterboy on Twitter: "Why on earth are McLaren missing a testing opportunity tomorrow? You would think they would want every bit of track time they can get!"

1535: Sounds as though Virgin were battling an electrical problem on D'Ambrosio's vehicle, which explains why he only recently made it out of the pits for his first stint of the afternoon session. Vettel, meanwhile, brings a 16-lap run to a close after completing his 99th lap of the day. He started with a time of one minute 31 seconds and followed it with two 1:27s, seven 1:28s, four 1:29s and two 1:30s. Red Bull proved this morning that they seem to be the class of the field in terms of pace, so the afternoon has enabled them to work on other aspects of their overall package.

1525: Plenty of the drivers have passed the 100-lap mark today, meaning lots and lots of invaluable work is getting done out there on the Circuit de Catalunya. Vettel, of course, looks in a position of real strength atop the leaderboard thanks to his early lap of one minute 23.865 seconds. Nobody has managed to get within half a second of him. Sebastien Buemi is his closest challenger 0.531 seconds adrift and Vitaly Petrov finds himself third with a time of 1:22.670. Then come Hamilton, Massa, Di Resta and Kobayashi, followed by Rosberg, Trulli, Maldonado and D'Ambrosio. Still time for a few more twists and turns yet, though.

1520: Once again, lots of you asking why there's no TV coverage of testing. It's quite simple. Bernie Ecclestone's Formula 1 Management (FOM) company - not the BBC - provide the pictures in this sport and obviously they don't feel that broadcasting the test events would make economic sense. The required finances, logistics and manpower make it a more complex situation than many of us imagine.

Renault GP on Twitter: "Into the final hour of testing for the day. If you want to see some photos of the action, check out this link."

1512: I'm genuinely astonished by the sheer volume of McLaren/Hamilton comments we've had today. Whether good, bad or indifferent, your views are very welcome and keep them coming via the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 a direct tweet @bbcsport_david or text to 81111 (UK). In the meantime, the man you're all talking about has snuck up to fourth on the timesheets with a lap of 1:22.888, which is 1.023 seconds off the pace. It'll take a massive effort to knock Vettel from top spot.

Mercedes GP on Twitter: "One hour left on the clock and 90 laps completed for Nico... 1:26.023 with a focus on set-up over longer runs so far this afternoon."

1500: Quick work from the marshals enables testing to recommence with exactly an hour to go. And it's a big hour for McLaren, who aren't running tomorrow and will be desperate to make up for their morning-session problems.

1458: Buemi comes to a halt at Turn 9, meaning a fourth RED FLAG of the day. I think the recovery truck may now have completed more laps than birthday boy Pastor Maldonado. The Williams man has finally made it back out on the track after his early Kers problem and sits ninth on the timesheets with a best time of 1:27.108.

BBC pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz: "Some more news on exhausts. Red Bull and Ferrari have gone for directing their exhausts as far back as possible, while Renault have tidied up their system for the Barcelona test, while retaining the unique exits right at the front of their sidepods. Mercedes, meanwhile, have gone for a halfway measure with exhausts that exit right in the middle of the outer body of their sidepods. They've had to put a metal turning vane on top of the floor to guide the exhaust gas to where they want it. But it's still more of a 2010-style solution rather than the more integrated system used by Red Bull and Ferrari."

1445: Is Lewis Hamilton about to silence the McLaren doomsayers? Out of nowhere, the 2008 world champion produces a flying lap of 1:23.540 to go fifth-quickest. An hour-and-a-quarter left on the clock - can Hamilton make up for a shocking morning with a stunning afternoon?

1437: Finally, a significant change on the timesheets. Sebastien Buemi marks his 99th lap of the day with a time of one minutes 22.561 to jump up to second place, 0.696 behind Sebastian Vettel. Petrov (1:22.670), Massa (1:23.324), and Di Resta (1:24.334) are the only drivers within three seconds of the pacesetter.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Barcelona: "Jerome D'Ambrosio found an unusual way to occupy himself while his Virgin team put his car back together after an electrical problem halted his progress. The Belgian rookie showed the small BBC team of three around the Virgin garage with the help of team boss John Booth and team president Graeme Lowdon. D'Ambrosio talked us through all the buttons on the steering wheel, including the new one for the moveable rear wing which he joked was marked with an 'O' for overtake. Virgin don't have a kinetic energy recovery system (Kers) button as they are not using the power boost device this season. With Timo Glock recuperating at home in Germany after an operation to remove his appendix, D'Ambrosio is running all four days in Barcelona. Can he manage all that driving? 'I wish it was more,' he answered enthusiastically. Booth also said that Glock has been constantly texting him from his sickbed and the German is so keen to check in on progress that he is expected to pay a visit to Barcelona tomorrow."

1428: Plenty of the drivers well into their long stints/race simulations now, really putting those new Pirelli tyres to the test. Very intrigued to see how they degrade compared to the old Bridgstones. Quicker, I'm told. The aim being more exciting races. Time will tell...

Hispania driver Narain Karthikeyan on Twitter: "Tonio Luzzi my team mate at Hispania. Known him from F3 days. Good driver and a nice guy too."

Max, London, via text on 81111: "Hispania remind me of a student who is constantly making up excuses to get deadline extensions on their essays. How many times have they put the launch date of the F111 back? One suspects, just like the student, they're eventually going to get found out. What odds a repeat of 2010, when Karun Chandhok was essentially carrying out a shakedown test in Q1 of the first race weekend?"

1413: As Steve points out, the return of kinetic energy recovery systems has not exactly gone smoothly in pre-season testing and it'll be interesting to see how teams cope with it during the season. If some can get it working reliably and others not, you'd imagine the latter finding themselves at a significant disadvantage.

Steve, north Wales, via text on 81111: "It seems a lot of teams are having problems with Kers again. Will we see another year of half the teams ditching it like last time?"

Team Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "11 laps in and tyre seem to be going. Has been consistent up to now but looks like the drop off has started. Going to make a change to the rear suspension and repeat this run to see if we can help the tyre drop off."

1355: Still no sign of poor Pastor Maldonado, hamstrung by a Kers problem this morning and seemingly consigned to the garage for much longer than expected. You all seem pretty pleased by news of Liuzzi being taken on by Hispania. Keep your chat coming my way via the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 or direct @bbcsport_david. Another option is sending an SMS to 81111 (UK) - I'll post the best comments and try to get some of your burning questions answered

1345: It's bee a fairly quiet 45 minutes out on the track, although Kobayashi has just gone round in 1:27.207 for the fastest lap of the afternoon so far. That's still pretty slow compared to this morning, mind. Vettel continues to lead the way after his breathtaking 1:21.865, with Petrov 0.805 seconds back, Massa almost 1.5 seconds off the pace. Buemi and Di Resta complete the top five and Hamilton remains eighth following his pre-lunch surge - but there's no mistaking that this has been another disappointing day for McLaren.

Team Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "A couple of long runs on high fuel for Jarno to check out tyre degradation this afternoon. Planning 15 laps in this stint but the tyre might not last that long."

Luizzi tested with Hispania at the Circuit de Catalunya in February

1332: "I am really happy to have signed this agreement with Hispania Racing," says 29-year-old Liuzzi, a former Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India driver. "I never lost hope to be in Formula One as I knew I have the experience and the right attributes for a young and ambitious team. I face a new challenge now and this excites me. I also face a lot of hard work in guiding Hispania Racing through the development of our new car."

1328: While exact strategies are kept under wraps, we're expecting most of the teams to focus on long runs this afternoon. The session doesn't finish until 1600 GMT so plenty of time yet. Buemi, currently fourth-fastest with a time of 1:23.838, did more laps than anyone else this morning (78) and he's emerged from the pits for his latest stint. Although I he's actually practising pit stops initially.

1320: All 12 team line-ups are now complete and another blinding season awaits. On the subject of Hispania's new car, the team have announced they finally plan to show it off in the Circuit de Catalunya pit lane on Friday at 1300 local time (1200 GMT).

1312: First and foremost, however, some breaking news. Hispania have announced Vitantonio Liuzzi as their second driver for 2011. The Italian will join forces with Narain Karthikeyan behind the wheel of the F111, which has yet to be unveiled.

1310: Welcome to the afternoon session on day two of the final pre-season test event in Barcelona. Hope you all had a nice lunch break - now it's time to get back to business. Up goes the green flag and out come the cars. Here we go...

1300: Buenas tardes senoras y senores.

1220: Right then, I'm off to get some grub. Back in about 40 minutes, when we're sure to learn even more about Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren et al. See you in a bit.

Renault GP on Twitter: "Morning session over. Vitaly is second fastest after 43 laps. Best time of 1.22.670.

Mercedes GP on Twitter: "And that's lunch in Barcelona! 55 laps completed for Nico with a quickest time of 1:26.120."

Williams F1 on Twitter: "Kers electrical problem. We are removing the system for today. Targeting to get back out this afternoon."

1210: The only man yet to set a time is Venezuelan F1 rookie Pastor Maldonado of Williams, who stopped on the track early doors to prompt a first red flag of the day.

1200: Out comes the chequered flag to signify lunch. Sebastian Vettel heads into the pits a very happy man after his lap of 1:21.865, which is 0.805 seconds quicker than his closest challenger Vitaly Petrov. Felipe Massa (1:23.324), Sebastien Buemi (1:23.838) and Paul di Resta (1:24.334) lock out the top five. Kamui Kobayashi (1:25.485), Nico Rosberg (1:26.120) and Lewis Hamilton (1:28.946) occupy positions six to eight, with Jerome D'Ambrosio (1:28.982) and Jarno Trulli (1:29.286) lying low.

Paul, Belfast, via text on 81111: "I believe that McLaren have made the right decision with the radical redesign. They have been struggling for mechanical grip since 2009 with the regulation changes. A bottom up redesign was needed, so I think teething problems now will pay off in the next few years."

1158: Oh and, as promised, here's Andrew Benson's story on Suzuka. The circuit has extended its contract with Formula 1 to host the Japanese Grand Prix until 2012.

1155: McLaren have sorted Hamilton's exhaust problem and the Englishman gets his latest run started with a lap of 1:29.875. He follows that up with a 1:28.946 and is now up to eighth. Does the comeback start here?

BBC pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz: "I've been looking at the photographs and reports coming in from Barcelona and there is lots to talk about, first of all Ferrari. As well as a slightly updated front wing, the biggest change to the Ferrari is introducing the same exhaust idea as Red Bull have. Ferrari started the testing season with 2010-style exhausts which exited either side of the gearbox. But Red Bull have designed the whole of their car to achieve clear air flow off the top of the diffuser and this meant enclosing the exhausts in a flat, square sleeve that runs along the top of the floor and exits just under the rear wing. Ferrari's design is very similar, but they are introducing it at the final test rather than the first one. There will be a lot of work to do with it in terms of checking whether it's cooking the back of the car."

1150: We're back under way and Petrov makes his move with a lap of 1:22.684 to sit 0.819 seconds behind pacesetter Vettel. Massa (1:23.324) is third, Di Resta (1:24.334) fourth and Buemi (1:24.334) fifth. Still no good news on the McLaren front, with Hamilton (1:30.959) way off the pace.

Kate, bored writing dissertation in Newcastle, via text on 81111: "I agree the McLarens are looking slow in testing but at the end of the day the race is were it counts and in F1 anything can happen all it needs is a first corner incident or red bulls to crash into each other again and the points can be anyone's."

Alex, trying to work from home in Oxford, via text on 81111: "I have got to be honest, I don't see McLaren challenging Red Bull or Ferrari this year for the titles; the damage has been done. Plus most of McLaren's reputation for quickly developing a bad car comes from 2009 when Brawn didn't have the budget to push forward and Red Bull were compromised by the diffuser issue. Catching the top teams now is far more difficult."

Phil, at work, via text on 81111: "I think McLaren have made the same mistakes as the did last year only 10 fold. It's what I call a case of "Adrian Newey" syndrome. They are so concerned that a new team like Red Bull are going to run rings around them again they have thrown endless amounts of money and radical new parts at this car. Sometimes a more simple but effective design works best as Brawn GP and Red Bull have proven in the past!"

1135: We have a third RED FLAG of the day after the Virgin of D'Ambrosio gets stranded at Turn 6. Out come the recovery men and they teams will be keen to resume pretty sharpish.

1133: Oh dear, more woe for McLaren.

5 live F1 on Twitter: "Another problem for McLaren and Lewis as the car has had an exhaust failure..."

1130: Anyway, back to the track and Vettel remains the man to beat with his lap of 1:21.863. However, Massa (1:23.324) has now closed the gap to 1.459 seconds. Di Resta (1:24.334) and Petrov (1:24.400) are third and fourth-fastest respectively, while Seba Buemi (1:25.334) is into the top five. Kobayashi (1:25.485), Rosberg (1:26.120), D'Ambrosio (1:28.982), Trulli (1:29.286) all lead Hamilton (1:30.959), who is still bottom of the pile with half-an-hour to go before the lunch break.

Jenson Button's finishing manoeuvre: "@GaryPaffett Unbelievably hot!! Now get back in the simulator!"

Gary Paffett's response: "@JensonButton Morning mate. Good to see your paying attention. You obviously agree with me though."

Jenson Button's reaction: "@GaryPaffett @jessybondgirl Excuse me!!! ;-)"

Gary Paffett to Jenson Button's girlfriend Jessica Michibata on Twitter: "@jessybondgirl Wow Jessy looking hot in your new profile pic!!! Hope all is well."

1115: It's fair to say the McLaren pace issue has got you nattering. Dozens of Tweets and text messages to 81111 following Andrew Benson's entries. On a lighter note, those of you following both Jenson Button and McLaren test driver Gary Paffett will have noticed a rather amusing exchange this morning. It goes like this...

BBC Sport's Andrew Benson: "On the subject of McLaren, it's worth pointing out - as David Coulthard did in the first of our season preview videos - that the team excel at developing a car through the season. So even though the 2009 car was something like three or four seconds off the pace when it first appeared, by the middle of the year it was winning races. So all is not lost for McLaren by any means. I'm sure, though, that there is concern at Woking HQ about why they keep putting themselves in this position."

1058: Vettel (1:21.865) still rules the roost with a time which we might not see beaten all week, let alone today. Di Resta, second-fastest, is back out on the track and has just closed the gap on Vettel with a 1:24.334, but he's still 2.469 seconds off the pace. Petrov (1:24.689) sits third, Massa (1:24.878) fourth and Kobayashi (1:25.485) fifth. Hamilton (1:30.959) is still down in 10th.

BBC 5 Live pit-lane reporter Natalie Pinkham: "Just a quick update from Force India after Paul di Resta stopped out on track. The team tell me it's a minor problem with the fuel pressure and he will be back out soon."

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado on Twitter: "Thanks all of you for the support, now at the pit looking for the Kers problem, it will take some time."

BBC Sport's Andrew Benson: "Damian asks a very interesting question. I did touch on this in my blog about the McLaren car launch. Clearly, we're talking differing degrees of being off the pace in the last three years. The 2009 McLaren was terrible - seconds off the pace. Last year's was much better - basically the third quickest car but still good enough to win races and fight for the title. And we don't yet know the full extent of their problems in 2011. It's also a moot point whether the 2007/08 cars were actually as good as they looked. Yes, they respectively should have and did win the title in those years, but look at the drivers in the McLaren and rival Ferrari. In 2007 McLaren had Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who left at the end of that year. Ferrari had Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa both years. And if you look at the relative pace of Alonso and Massa at Ferrari last year, you can extrapolate logically that probably the 2007/08 Ferraris were faster cars than the McLarens but that the driver(s) made up the difference. You might not agree, but it's an interesting topic for discussion, certainly."

1043: There's clearly plenty of concern out there over McLaren's chances in 2011. Jenson Button admitted on Tuesday that the Woking-based team might not be able to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 27 March. McLaren didn't launch the MP4-26 until the second pre-season test in Jerez and have since been troubled by a lack of spare parts and reliability issues. In response to Damian's question below - "what happened to the good cars of 2007/08?" - I've got a reply for you from our F1 expert Andrew Benson...

Sean Martin, at work in Hull, via text on 81111: "Poor Jenson and Lewis, what is going on at McLarens "technology" centre. I really hope they are sand bagging."

Anon via text on 81111: "Lying in bed with the flu, the live text keeping me sane. The only person that can be sweating more than me at the moment is [McLaren team principal] Martin Whitmarsh."

Renault GP on Twitter: "Vitaly's getting down to a busy programme. Some base-line set-up work this morning, new tyre runs, and longer runs planned for the afternoon."

1033: A few good stories in Wednesday's F1 gossip column, well worth a look. Meanwhile, McLaren appear to have fixed Hamilton's hydraulics leak and he comes out to post his first timed lap of the day, an effort of one minute 31.745 seconds. That leaves him 10th out of 10. At the other end of the timesheets, Petrov (1:24.689) leapfrogs Massa into second but Vettel still leads the way - and by some distance with that stunning 1:21.865 a little while ago.

Damian, about to start work, via text on 81111: "It will be interesting to see how Lewis Hamilton does today - McLaren really need to sort their car out, for a third year in a row it is off the pace and that can't be a good thing. What happened to the good cars of 2007/08?"

1020: No oil spilled from Di Resta's car so we should see that green flag again shortly... and there it is, we're back under way.

BBC 5 Live pit-lane reporter Natalie Pinkham: "I'm enjoying the second day of testing here in Barcelona and looking forward to interviewing Lewis Hamilton later for a pre-season chat. The McLaren driver has only done 10 laps this morning and the team say that's because of a hydraulics leak. Hopefully he will be back on track soon. Williams have also confirmed that Pastor Maldonado had a problem with his Kers system and the team are still investigating what went wrong. By the way, you will be able to hear my interview with Lewis on 5 Live on Thursday evening."

1013: And there RED FLAG number two, Di Resta's Force India coming to a halt at the end of the main straight.

1012: Very much as we were on the leaderboard. Massa pits after a short stint working on aerodynamics, so Di Resta is currently the only person out on the track. And there aren't too many more in the stands by all accounts. The first three test events drew pretty big crowds but it doesn't seem this one is following suit. Perhaps the locals are just waiting for Mr Alonso to emerge.

1005: Williams reveal on their Twitter page that Maldonado's earlier stop on the track was caused by a Kers problem. Kers (kinetic energy recovery systems) are back for the 2011 season after a one-year absence and drivers will use them to aid overtaking. The systems take waste energy from the brakes and turn it into a power boost at the push of a button. "Team still investigating".

1000: So, Vettel (1:21.865) is currently top of the pops by more than three seconds. And it'll take some effort to remove him. Massa (1:24.878) is his closest rival, with Di Resta (1:25.310) third, Kobayashi (1:25.956) fourth and Petrov (1:26.105) fifth. Really laid down a marker this morning, have Red Bull.

0955: A spot of news reaching us from behind the scenes. BBC Sport's Andrew Benson has learned that the historic Suzuka circuit has extended its contract with Formula 1 to host the Japanese Grand Prix until 2012. The track, regarded as one of the greatest challenges for drivers in the world, had previously been confirmed only until this season's event. No date has been finalised for 2012, which will be held on 9 October in 2011. Suzuka first held the Japanese Grand Prix in 1987 but like all traditional tracks is fighting for its place against new venues which can pay higher fees. Full story to follow shortly.

Ferrari on Twitter: "Good morning from Circuit de Catalunya, where Felipe Massa is running in the first day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari. The Ferrari 150° Italia has the new aerodynamic package, including a new layout of the exhausts. Morning's work will be mainly focused on the comparison of various aerodynamic configurations."

0949: Blimey. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel has just posted lap of one minute 21.865 seconds. I make that the quickest time we've seen in Barcelona this week or in February's third test event at the same circuit. A 1:23.386 on his third lap suggests the German has not been running with too light a fuel load either. Wow. Ominous signs for the rest of the field. Red Bull look lightning quick.

Renault GP on Twitter: "Show your support for Robert Kubica by contributing to a mosaic poster made up of fan photos. Visit http://bit.ly/gZDNvp for more info."

0938: Vettel still leads the way from Massa and Di Resta, with Kobayashi fourth and Petrov fifth. Buemi, Rosberg, D'Ambrosio and Trulli have also set times, so we're just waiting on Hamilton and red flag culprit Maldonado.

0930: Sunny skies in London but it's pretty gloomy in Barcelona. Not often you can say that. All in all a pretty miserable trip, then, for the Arsenal fans who stayed over last night.

0925: Massa flies round in 1:24.878 to reclaim second place from Di Resta. The Brazilian 2008 world championship runner-up is now 2.152 seconds behind Vettel.

seperatesunsets on Twitter: "If only Williams would give me a seat tomorrow for my birthday - although it would be tricky to drive and blow out the candles!"

0915: We're back under way and Di Resta improves his time to 1:25.310 to go second fastest, 2.584 behind Vettel.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt on Twitter: "Four marshals dressed in red are deliberately checking track to make sure there's no oil or debris while we wait for the restart."

0910: While the recovery truck does its business, we can turn our attention to the timesheets. Vettel sits top of the pile, with his 1:22.726 coming from just a three-lap stint. Massa (1:25.447) is 2.721 adrift, Kobayashi (1:25.956) third-fastest, Rosberg (1:27.420) fourth and Petrov (1:27.703) completing the top five. Di Resta and Trulli are the only other drivers to have posted times. Hamilton has completed 10 laps so far but he's been focusing on pit stops.

0904: And would you Adam and Eve it... it's only Maldonado who has caused the red flag. Holty tells me "he stopped on the track, nothing more dramatic than that". OK Pastor, we know it's your birthday, you don't have to come to a halt on the circuit to prove it!

0858: Yes, Maldonado is 26 today. The GP2 champ is gearing up for his first season in F1 having been granted a seat by Williams. He'll become only the second Venezuelan to drive in the sport.

Williams F1 on Twitter: "Happy birthday @Pastormaldo from all at Williams!! Is there a better way to spend your birthday than driving an F1 car??!!"

0856: And there we have it, our first RED FLAG of the day. Let's hope it's nothing serious. No news just yet.

0855: Massa is knocked off his perch by Sebastian Vettel, the world champion going round in 1:22.726 to lead the Brazilian by 2.721 seconds. Kobayashi, Rosberg and Petrov complete the top five.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Barcelona: "A first sighter from Felipe Massa has taken him to the top of the timesheets. The Brazilian clocked a best time of 1:26.447 on the third lap of a seven-lap run. There are lots of eagle eyes in the paddock keen to find out what updates and modifications Ferrari have to the car for the final test - and we will be doing our best to find out too."

Force India on Twitter: "Morning, back in Barca for day 2. Paul drives all day, doing a race weekend simulation. Quali this morning then a race sim in the afternoon."

0845: So how we all doing? Wherever you are in the world, I hope the answer to that is positive - how couldn't it be with the new Formula 1 season drawing ever closer. It promises to be a long and highly-interesting day - seven hours and 15 minutes to be precise - and I'd urge you to play an active role. How can you do that? Normal methods. Have your say via the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 or Tweet me directly @bbcsport_david. Not Twitter-friendly? Fear not. You people can drop me a text message to 81111 (UK).

Team Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "Jarno testing today here in Barcelona. Cold but dry track this morning."

Mercedes GP on Twitter: "A cold and grey morning in Barcelona... Nico will be in the car today to start this week's four-day test programme for us."

0830: Installation laps have been completed and we're starting to see a few times posted. Kobayashi leads the way with a 1:26.424 from Rosberg (1:27.420), Britain's Paul di Resta (1:28.534) and reigning world champion Vettel (1:31.672). Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, is busy practising pit stops in his MP4-26.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Barcelona: "For those of you wondering what has happened to Hispania, I have some news hot from the team's headquarters. The Spanish team say they are planning to launch and run their 2011 car for the first time on Friday afternoon and join McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Williams on Saturday's fifth day of testing. Hispania have had a stuttering start to 2011, running the 2010 car in Valencia and Barcelona and skipping the Jerez test altogether. The team have also yet to confirm who will be driving alongside Narain Karthikeyan in the new season and gave a test to Vitantonio Liuzzi, who lost his Force India seat to Paul Di Resta, last time out in Barcelona."

0825: We're expecting a busy day at the circuit, with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa all in action. I believe this is one of only two days on which Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren will be on the track at the same time. Ferrari missed Tuesday and McLaren are due to sit out tomorrow. Nico Rosberg, Vitaly Petrov, Pastor Maldonado, Paul Di Resta, Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastien Buemi, Jarno Trulli and Jerome D'Ambrosio complete the 11-car field.

Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen on Twitter: "6.30am hotel calls me in Barcelona, anti doping control coming to visit, nice way to wake up... Doping control done quickly no problems, I support anti doping it's good they test us, especially when racing and testing as we are not travelling"

0817: In case you weren't with us yesterday, a little recap. Mark Webber topped the timesheets for Red Bull was a lap of one minute 22.544 seconds, with Jenson Button second-fastest but 0.366 seconds off the pace. The Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld were split by Sauber's Sergio Perez to complete the top five on a day that Ferrari opted against running their car.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Barcelona: "Morning everyone. Red Bull are determined to waste no time in the final test and the champion team were practising their pit stops at 8am under the watchful eye of team manager Jonathan Wheatley and his clockwatch. Handily, 5 Live producer Jason got out his camera to capture the scene for me. Mark Webber, who set the fastest time seen so far in Barcelona testing on Tuesday with 1:22.544, spoke about the need to test the whole race weekend, through three practice session, qualifying and the race itself. He will be pleased to see Red Bull doing pit stop drills because we are expecting to see more of them in 2011 because the Pirelli tyres aren't expected to last for as many laps. Here's Webber again: 'We're ready to go now, get into it and see where we are. We need to go racing.'"

0810: High time I introduced you to our intrepid track-side reporter, si? For any newcomers, her name is Sarah Holt and she'll be adding her insight and expertise to this live text commentary throughout the day. As well as doing lots more for us over in Barcelona.

0805: Yes, that's right, day two of five at the final pre-season test before the 2011 campaign kicks off in Melbourne on 27 March. You ready? Good. The green flag is a'fluttering. Let's get going...

0800: The people of Barcelona are probably rather happy this morning. Why? Because Formula 1 testing resumes at the Circuit de Catalunya, of course. Nothing to do with a certain football result.