Romain Grosjean topped the timesheets for the second day in a row at the final pre-season test, as Lotus spent a productive day making up for lost time.
After heavy fog postponed the start of the day's running, 30 minutes was added to the end and Grosjean set his fastest lap - a 1:22.614 - right at the death. His Lotus clocked the headline-grabbing time on a set of soft tyres and completed over 120 laps by the end of the day.
Grosjean's time knocked Jean-Eric Vergne off the top spot, which the Toro Rosso driver had held since setting a 1:23.361 just before lunch. Vergne's best time was set on soft tyres, and he'd just gone out on supersofts when his car came to a halt at turn eight, causing the sixth of eight red flags over the course of the day. The problem turned out to be engine related and fairly serious as the Toro Rosso did not emerge from its garage until the final 30 minutes. He completed just 31 laps in total.
Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull was third fastest, 0.747s adrift of Grosjean's best time. A handful of fans at turn five were treated to the rare sight of his Red Bull grinding to a halt just before lunch, but Vettel was back on track in the afternoon and set his fastest time on medium tyres a couple of hours after lunch. Fernando Alonso set a time 0.086s slower than Vettel and clocked a new mileage record for the car with 125 laps in total, including the F2012's first race simulation.
Heikki Kovalainen showed the Caterham's potential for the first time in testing by setting a lap two seconds faster than it managed last week. His 1:23.828, set on super-soft tyres in the morning session, was 1.6s faster than his qualifying time at the Spanish Grand Prix last year and a clear sign of the progress the team has made with the new CT01.
Kamui Kobayashi's afternoon running was limited by a hydraulic problem but he still completed 73 laps in total with a best time of 1:23.836, good enough for sixth. He was just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg's Force India, which caused a red flag just after lunch due to a driveline issue and didn't leave the garage again all afternoon.
Michael Schumacher, eighth quickest, had a difficult morning after causing two red flags. The first came when he stopped at turn eight, but the second was far more spectacular as he beached his car in the gravel at turn five. He went on to complete 79 laps in total with a fastest time of 1:23.987.
Lewis Hamilton also had a low-key day, setting the ninth fastest time and clocking just 65 laps. More upgrades are expected to arrive for the McLaren overnight, meaning its weekend times will be a better indication of its true pace ahead of Melbourne.
Williams split its day between its two drivers with Pastor Maldonado completing 20 laps in the morning and Bruno Senna clocking up 48 in the afternoon. Neither came close to matching Maldonado's best time from last week, with Senna on clocking a 1:24.925 and Maldonado a 1:25.801.
Times
| Driver | Car | Time | Laps | |
| 1. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus E20 | 1:22.614 | 124 |
| 2. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso STR7 | 1:23.126 | 31 |
| 3. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull RB8 | 1:23.361 | 85 |
| 4. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari F2012 | 1:23.447 | 125 |
| 5. | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham CT01 | 1:23.828 | 104 |
| 6. | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber C31 | 1:23.836 | 77 |
| 7. | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India VJM05 | 1:23.893 | 33 |
| 8. | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes W03 | 1:23.978 | 79 |
| 9. | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren MP4-27 | 1:24.111 | 65 |
| 10. | Bruno Senna | Williams FW34 | 1:24.925 | 48 |
| 11. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams FW34 | 1:25.801 | 20 |
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