Sauber's Sergio Perez has ended Red Bull's two-day reign at the top of the timesheets after setting Thursday's quickest time in testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. Perez posted a best lap of 1m 21.761s as this week's final pre-season session continued at the Spanish track. With McLaren and HRT not in action, ten of Formula One racing's 12 teams were out on track. Perez's fastest time was over three-tenths of a second quicker

Right now the potential of McLaren's new MP4-26 remains unclear to say the least. What is clear is that if there's one team you write off at your peril, it's McLaren. While some of their fiercest rivals have faded to the midfield over the years, they have remained at or near the top. So while the press may by full of scare stories about their pre-season form, with two world champions at the wheel and a factory-full of title-winning experience, team principal Martin Whitmarsh's message is don't underestimate McLaren

After a spell racing for BMW Sauber last year, long-term McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa has rejoined the British team as their official test and reserve driver. De la Rosa originally joined McLaren back in 2003 and worked closely with the team for over seven seasons, helping develop cars which scored 29 victories and the drivers' world championship with Lewis Hamilton in 2008

Red Bull's Mark Webber topped the timesheets as the final pre-season test began at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Webber's best time, a 1m 22.544s, was almost four-tenths of a second faster than the quickest lap from McLaren's Jenson Button in second. The weather made life tricky for the eight teams in action, with lower-than-expected temperatures and a blustery wind hampering their programmes at the Spanish circuit. Most, however, enjoyed productive days, with Webber managing to complete almost 100 laps in the RB7.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel matched his team mate Mark Webber's Tuesday success by setting Wednesday's fastest time as this week's final pre-season test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya continued. Vettel posted a best of 1m 21.865s to beat the second-placed Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi by half a second and Webber's Tuesday time by almost seven-tenths. Renault's Vitaly Petrov finished in third, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Force India took the sixth slot with Paul di Resta continuing his strong form in the VJM04. Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was seventh ahead of Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg and Lotus's Jarno Trulli.