Day 3 - Test Assessment

Times
1 Alonso Ferrari 1:11.470 127 laps
2 de la Rosa Sauber 1:12.094 80 laps
3 Schumacher Mercedes 1:12.438 82 laps
4 Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:12.576 97 laps
5 Button McLaren 1:12.951 82 laps
6 Petrov Renault 1:13.097 75 laps
7 Hulkenberg Williams 1:13.669 126 laps

Highlights of the day was Alonso beating Massas time, and Button finishing the day 5th fastest. But on the 2nd Feb 2010 the track temperature barely made it above freezing whereas on the 3rd Feb it was around the 18 degree mark, makes a big difference and therefore Alonso bettering Massa's time relatively quickly is irrelevant given the conditions were much better. Even on the same day, unless 2 drivers set their best lap time at similar times of day (which is often not the case) and using similar amounts of fuel (which we won't know) its impossible to judge accurately. If Ferrari are consistently at the front though it would be most likely that they are the true pace-setters.
Generally speaking drivers' comments are as good an indicator as any at this stage. Remember last year? Everyone was adamant Brawn were running light at Barcelona yet you only had to see Jenson's smile and listen to Rubens giddy like a kid at Christmas to realise the car must be good. Therefore Felipe, Alonso and Lewis all saying good stuff about their cars is telling. Lewis is usually in Mclaren PR mode so to use phrases like 'night and day' is particularly telling for me. Still, no-one really knows anything for sure yet. The Fezza does seem quick though.
Qualifying 1, Sat 13th March at Bahrain. That is when we will find out for real how the teams compare when they ALL have the same fuel on board and are driving purely to go as fast as they can. Until then the testing times are interesting to try and interpret and read about in the F1 gossip columns, but that's all.