08:00 Welcome to AUTOSPORT's live coverage of the first day of this week's testing at Barcelona

08:00 It's a clear day in the Catalan city, so expect a lot of running as teams begin their final test before the start of the season

08:01 Fauzy is the first driver to take to the track in the Lotus. He is followed by the Force India of Tonio Liuzzi

08:02 You can find the full line-up for today's test here:

Full Barcelona test driver line-up

08:04 Liuzzi, Alguersuari, Fauzy, de la Rosa, Alonso and Hulkenberg have completed installation laps. No times registered yet

08:06 Hulkenberg sets the first time of the day with the Williams. A 1:37.8

08:06 Webber has also joined the track to completed an installation lap with the Red Bull

08:11 Rosberg has also completed his first lap of the day

08:15 Only Petrov and di Grassi are yet to complete their installation laps

08:16 Jenson Button's timing transponder is not working at the moment. The world champion has done an installation lap

08:17 Fauzy posts a 1:32.913 to move to the top of the times

08:19 The Lotus test driver stays on and lowers the benchmark to 1:32.0, still far from the best times expected today

08:20 Lucas di Grassi takes to the track in the Virgin car to complete his installation lap

08:22 Fauzy has now completed four consecutive timed laps with a best of 1:31.532

08:22 The session has been stopped.

08:23 First red flag of the day, just 23 minutes into the session

08:23 Fauzy appears to have stopped on track

08:25 The Lotus has stopped between turns 9 and 10

08:27 The car is now being recovered and the action should continue in a few minutes

08:33 Our man @NobleF1 has spotted multiple TT winner John McGuinness in the Toro Rosso motorhome

08:33 Green flag

08:35 You can already read this week's AUTOSPORT online here

08:36 Petrov heads out of the pits with the Renault to what is likely to be his first installation lap of the day

08:37 Weather update: Clear skies, air temperature is 11 degrees and track temperature is 19.4

08:37 3mph south westerly wind

08:39 Rosberg moves to the top of the times with a 1:26.8. He is followed by Alonso, who is less than two tenths behind

08:39 1:25.1 for Rosberg

08:41 Pedro de la Rosa is now second quickest in the Sauber, albeit over a second behind Rosberg

08:43 Times are tumbling at the moment. 1:24.3 for Rosberg, the quickest man right now

08:45 The fastest time in the previous test in Barcelona is a 1:18.926, set by Rubens Barrichello in the Brawn in March last year

08:46 But things, and cars, have changed quite a lot since then

08:48 You should follow @ClaireVWilliams if you aren't already. She's great fun:

http://twitpic.com/157zji - After 9 years, I finally have a nickname (that I know of!). I blame twitter for this!

08:49 De la Rosa has completed a six-lap run in the Sauber, moving to second place, just 0.074 behind Rosberg

08:50 Jamie Alguersuari is also going fast with the Toro Rosso

08:53 Button's McLaren is still having transponder issues and his times are not being recorded

08:54 So the world champion's times are anyone's guess

08:55 This is good advice from Toro Rosso...

@ToroRossoSpy: Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness in our hospitality. Youtube him riding a lap of the track to see what real men do for a living.

08:58 It appears that Button's timing problems have been solved, as the Briton is now fourth in the timesheet

08:59 Di Grassi sets the seventh fastest time, leaving Webber and Petrov as the only two drivers without a time

09:01 Rosberg is back on track, joining Button, Liuzzi and Hulkenberg

09:04 Over an hour after the start of the day, Hulkenberg is the man with the most laps: 13, followed by de la Rosa with 12

09:05 Rosberg becomes the first driver to lap in the 1:23s, extending his lead at the top of the times even more

09:07 The Mercedes GP driver has also set the second quickest time now, with a lap of 1:24.0

09:09 Rosberg is removed from the top spot by Webber, who has set a 1:23.512

09:11 It was either Webber's first flying of the day, or his transponder wasn't working properly either, because he is already on 13 laps

09:14 Webber goes even quicker: 1:23.335

09:16 Newcomers Virgin and Lotus are still in the garage, with four and seven laps completed respectively

09:17 Webber is back into the pits after a four-lap run. Average time for the run: 1:24.609

09:20 Button and Hulkenberg sharing the track now. The Williams driver is the busiest man so far with 23 laps

09:20 Lotus is expecting to return to action soon after the problem that stopped Fauzy earlier on

09:21 It was a minor hydraulic problem what forced the Malaysian driver to stop

09:22 The session has been stopped.

09:22 Second red flag of the day

09:23 It seems to have been caused by Alonso stopping on track

09:26 The Ferrari driver has stopped before Turn 10

09:29 Laps update while there's no action: Hulkenberg 24, Rosberg 17, Webber 16, Alguersuari 16, Liuzzi 13, Alonso 11, Button 9, Fauzy 7, di Grassi 4

09:30 Alonso's car is being recovered back to the pits

09:32 Green flag

09:35 Webber, Alguersuari, Button an de la Rosa take to the track after the stoppage

09:36 De la Rosa returns to the garage, as Hulkenberg is back out

09:36 Renault's Vitaly Petrov is the only driver who have not set a time yet, over 1.5 hours after the start of the test

09:39 And the Russian now sets his first lap time of the day: 1:29.5

09:42 One team missing from Barcelona is Campos, but new team boss Colin Kolles is still hopeful it will make it to Bahrain. Full story here:

Kolles confident Campos will be ready

09:44 Fauzy is back on track following his problems over an hour ago

09:45 The Lotus driver completes an installation lap and returns to his garage

09:46 Williams looks determined to make good use of the day. Hulkenberg is already on his 31st lap

09:47 The German is known as the only driver to be able to update his Twitter while driving

09:49 Rosberg is on a long-ish run now. His pit board says he has 12 laps left. He has improved his best time to a 1:23:709

09:52 The five quickest of the day man are on track at the moment: Webber, Rosberg, de la Rosa, Alguersuari and Button sharing the Spanish circuit

09:54 De la Rosa joins the 1:23s with the Sauber

09:55 The Spaniard makes another improvement, to 1:23.7. He is less than a tenth off Rosberg's best

09:57 De la Rosa stops after a four-lap run, with an average time of 1m24.078

09:59 Lucas di Grassi finally heads out of the pits after his four laps earlier on

10:01 Lotus is having air conditioning issues:

@twlotusracing: Our office is DIRTY hot as we're having a minor aircon issue, good excuse to visit pit and have a wander around the paddock

10:02 But no problems with the car, it seems, as Fauzy is back in action

10:05 Rosberg is on the 12th lap of his current stint. The Mercedes GP driver is lapping in the 1:24s and 25s

10:06 The German is the only man on track at the moment

10:08 McLaren appears to be trying a new pitstop device at Barcelona

10:08 Rosberg ends his 14-lap run with an average time of 1:25.181

10:11 Hulkenberg moves into second spot with a 1:23.435

10:12 And now goes top with the first 1:22 of the day, over six tenths ahead of Webber

10:13 @NobleF1: I understand Mercedes GP is to bring some aerodynamic updates to its car for the second day of the test - although unsure yet exactly what

10:14 Hulkenberg is back in the pits after a three-lap run: Two 1:22s and a 1:23

10:16 De la Rosa takes to the track again. He is joined by Petrov and Liuzzi

10:17 An update from Lotus:

@MikeGascoyne: Doing lambda sensor runs for engine so no representative laps yet

10:18 Di Grassi rejoins the action in the Virgin car. He has managed nine laps so far

10:19 Andy Soucek has begun life as a Virgin reserve driver at Barcelona today

10:20 As team-mate di Grassi pits again without setting a lap time

10:22 Fauzy is back out with the Lotus, joining Petrov, Alguersuari and Liuzzi

10:24 Liuzzi makes a significant improvement to move into sixth position

10:25 And this is what the Italian is busy doing:

@clubforce: Tonio now running through race preparation - simulating a lap behing the pace car now. Tonio has also done some practice pit stops

10:27 Button has joined the action, setting a 1:24.582 as his best lap of the day so far

10:28 Fauzy back to the pits after a two-lap run with no significant time set

10:30 Button and Petrov stop, leaving Alguersuari alone on track

10:31 For those who are not aware, there is supposed to be a proper lunch break at 1pm local time. Unlike Jerez, the break means there is no action on track for one hour

10:31 Or at least that's the theory

10:32 Alguersuari pits and Petrov rejoins. The Russian has completed 19 laps so far with the Renault

10:33 Interesting shot of the wheel fairing device from Ferrari

10:34 Lotus has completed its engine runs

10:37 Hulkenberg and Webber, the two quickest men, are on track now. De la Rosa, Petrov, di Grassi and Fauzy too

10:39 Both di Grassi and Fauzy improve and move into the 1:29s, the Brazilian still ahead of the Malaysian

10:39 1:28.654 for di Grassi, who jumps ahead of Petrov in the times

10:41 Another improvement for the Virgin driver: 1:28.234

10:43 Top man Hulkenberg completes a three-lap run and returns to the pits. His best was a 1:23.281

10:44 1:28.109 for di Grassi, who is the quickest of the three men on track. He's sharing the circuit with Petrov and Fauzy

10:45 Renault is carrying out pitstop practice today with Petrov

10:47 Williams, meanwhile, is catering for 150 guests during today and tomorrow: http://twitpic.com/158c7j (courtesy of @ClaireVWilliams)

10:48 Di Grassi pits after an eight-lap run. His average lap time was 1m29.147

10:49 Webber shoots to the top of the times with a 1m22.332, over four tenths quicker than Hulkenberg

10:51 The Australian now sets a 1:23.095 in the Red Bull

10:53 Webber pits after those two laps

10:55 Like di Grassi, Fauzy has completed en eight-lap run, with an average of 1:30.564. The Lotus driver is still at the bottom of the times

10:56 Rosberg, de la Rosa, Alguersuari and Petrov are in action now

10:57 Force India happy with its pitstop work so far:

@clubforce: Lots of pitstop practice for Force India now. Looking good.

10:58 Fernando Alonso is the driver with the smallest number of laps. Just 11 for the Spaniard, who hasn't returned to the track after stopping with a problem earlier on

11:00 Webber heads out again

11:02 The lap count at 12pm is: Alguersuari 50, Hulkenberg 44, de la Rosa 40, Webber 38, Rosberg 38, Petrov 36, Fauzy 27, Button 24, Liuzzi 23, di Grassi 20, Alonso 11

11:03 Webber's first flyer is a 1:22.6, three tenths off his best

11:03 And the second a 1:22.509. The Red Bull driver appears to be doing another low-fuel run

11:04 Another two-lap run and Webber returns to his garage. Rosberg is left alone on track

11:05 Rosberg is joined by Button, Petrov and Fauzy

11:07 Petrov going in and out as Renault continues doing pitstop practice

11:09 Another run for Webber, who leaves the pits again

11:12 The Red Bull racer sets the quickest time with a 1:22.243

11:13 And another improvement - 1:22.017 - as Webber is now over sixth tenths faster than his closest rival

11:15 Webber has completed three two-lap runs in the last minutes

11:17 There cannot be a lot of doubts about the speed of the Red Bull in qualifying trim

11:18 Hulkenberg heads out of the pits for another run. Will he be able to challenge Webber?

11:21 Not a bad effort from the Williams driver: a 1:22.795 on his first flying lap

11:22 But a 1:28 on his second attempt

11:23 And back with a 1:22.737 on the third lap

11:24 Di Grassi gets into the 1:27s

11:25 As Webber flies again, lowering his best time to a 1:21.487!

11:25 Webber is now over a 1.1 seconds ahead of Hulkenberg. He is also the only driver in the 1:21s

11:26 The Australian's second flyer is also a 1:21, but some four tenths slower than the previous one

11:28 Di Grassi has also managed a couple of improvements and has now a 1:27.377 as his best time

11:29 Last half hour of action before the one-hour lunch break. Ferrari still working on Alonso's car. Not the best day for the Italian squad, who has managed just 11 laps all morning

11:30 Webber is back out. Everyone will be watching his times closely

11:31 1:21.8 for the Red Bull man

11:33 And a 1:22.1 now. Not quite the same pace as before

11:35 Petrov has improved his best to a 1:26.848, leaving the two new teams at the bottom of the times

11:35 The session has been stopped.

11:36 Someone appears to have gone off at Turn 9

11:37 The third red flag of the day has been caused by di Grassi, who has just crashed against the tyre barriers, apparently

11:39 The Brazilian is uninjured and out of the car but the Virgin machine is damaged

11:41 This could be the end of the day's work for Virgin

11:46 Green light

11:46 Fifteen minutes left before the lunch break. Liuzzi heads out

11:48 The Spanish crowd goes crazy as Alonso finally returns to the track with the Ferrari

11:49 The Ferrari driver had not done any running since he stopped at 9:22. Now he has improved on his first flying lap

11:51 Compatriot de la Rosa also manages to improve and moves into third with the Sauber. Only di Grassi and Webber are not running at the moment

11:52 1:22.878 for Rosberg, who is now third

11:53 The Mercedes GP driver jumps up to second with a 1m22.670. Alonso up to fifth with a 1:24.5

11:55 Rosberg pits and that seems to be his morning work done before the lunch break

11:56 Most drivers are still on track for the final four minutes of action before the break

11:57 Drivers are slowly retuning to the pits

12:01 Rosberg still finds time to improve, now to a 1:22.514

12:04 And the action stops at Barcelona. More after the one-hour lunch break

12:58 The action at Barcelona is about to begin again after the lunch break

12:59 Ferrari reports that Alonso missed most of the morning's running due to an electronic issue

13:03 It appears Virgin will not be running anymore today after di Grassi's accident before the lunch break

13:04 Heikki Kovalainen is happy with the progress made by Lotus today:

@H_Kovalainen: I will be driving on Sunday only, Jarno driving the next 2 days after today as planned. We are making good progress again today...

13:11 Alonso is the first man to return from lunch, and takes to the track, much to the delight of his fans

13:14 The Ferrari driver sets the first time of the afternoon: 1:26.438

13:16 1:26.466 on his second flying lap. Alonso has the track to himself

13:16 1:25.600 and it looks like the Ferrari driver is going to do a five-lap run

13:18 A 1:26.265 on the fourth lap

13:18 Webber heads out of the pits and joins Alonso on track

13:20 Only briefly though, as the Australian is back into the pits following an installation lap. Alonso drives through the pits and comes back out

13:20 He is joined by Liuzzi in the Force India

13:21 There has been quite a lot of pitstop practice today

13:24 Alonso pits and leaves Liuzzi as the sole runner

13:25 Virgin will know in an about hour if di Grassi can return to action today

13:29 Button, on 44 laps so far today, leaves his garage while Liuzzi continues to carry out pitstop practice

13:30 Rosberg also jumps onto the track with the Mercedes

13:30 And is joined by Webber

13:33 Rosberg has pitted while Button has completed three timed laps on this current. A 1:25.251 is the best one so far

13:35 Just Button and Webber out at the moment. The rest of the teams are taking it easy before hitting the track after lunch

13:36 There was also GP2 qualifying today:

Bianchi claims maiden GP2 pole

13:37 What will Kovalainen say to this?

@MikeGascoyne: Heikki has been here this morning watching. Now going back to hotel, he says to train, we think for a game of golf

13:39 Button pops into the pits four laps into his run, but swiftly rejoins.

13:41 Alonso hits the track again. The Ferrari driver has to make up for time lost to this morning's electronics problem, having only managed 31 laps so far.

13:43 A slight improvement for Alonso straightaway - down to 1m24.3s - but no change in position.

13:44 @nobleF1: "Looks like Webber is running much heavier this afternoon - his stint so far is 1m29.833s, 1m28.915s, 1m28.504s"

13:44 Alonso knocks another 0.2s off his best time.

13:45 The track is starting to get busier again after the lunchtime lull: Webber, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Alguersuari and Fauzy are now out.

13:47 Webber is now eight laps into this run, and his times have come down from an initial 1m29s to a string of 1m27s.

13:48 Alonso had started out with a run of 1m24s, but has slowed to 1m26.0s now.

13:50 Fauzy takes half a second off his previous best time, while Rosberg returns to the track.

13:52 Alonso's times are now back into the high 1m24.9s, with Webber and Hulkenberg both doing 1m27s at present.

13:52 Alguersuari has just pitted after a six lap run that saw him average 1m27.8s.

13:57 Hulkenberg, Alonso and Fauzy have all pitted, leaving Webber and Rosberg on track, with Liuzzi nipping out between pitstop practices.

14:00 Fauzy had done seven laps, averaging in the 1m31s, Hulkenberg seven laps averaging in 1m29s thanks to a few slow times, and Alonso did 10 laps with an average of 1m26.s.

14:01 A quick summary of the order with two hours to go, laps completed in brackets: 1 Webber 1m21.487s (77); 2 Rosberg 1m22.514s (65); 3 Hulkenberg 1m22.684s (69); 4 Pedro de la Rosa 1m23.321s (53); 5 Fernando Alonso 1m24.170s (43); 6 Jenson Button 1m24.582s (56); 7 Jaime Alguersuari 1m24.869s (79); 8 Tonio Liuzzi 1m25.303s (43); 9 Vitaly Petrov 1m26.208s (54); 10 Lucas di Grassi 1m27.057s (31); 11 Fairuz Fauzy 1m29.268s (45)

14:02 Here's what Force India is up to, from @clubforce: "Going to practice qualifying stops now where only four people can be in the pit lane at once now. Tonio just left the garage"

14:02 @clubforce: "Now it's simulating a safety car and queued cars - they're trying every possible scenario there could be in a race"

14:04 Alguersuari and de la Rosa leave the pits to join Webber and Rosberg.

14:10 Reports coming in of a small amount of rainfall around the Catalunya track.

14:10 Times are holding up okay though, with Alguersuari in the 1m25s and de la Rosa in 1m24s.

14:11 Evidence of the weather change from @noblef1: "Toro Rosso's press man has got a wet scalp on the way up to the media centre"

14:12 Having ended his day's running with a crash just before lunch, @lucasdigrassi reports that "the causes of the accident are still being investigated"

14:13 Button is back out again now.

14:14 The session has been stopped.

14:15 Another red flag has just come out.

14:17 Mark Webber has caused this stoppage. The Red Bull has come to a halt somewhere in the middle part of the track.

14:19 Looks like it's Turn 7 where Webber has stopped.

14:19 The Red Bull driver, who had been comfortably fastest this morning, was 26 laps into a run, most of them in the 1m27s.

14:23 The session has restarted.

14:23 Liuzzi is first out as the green flag flies.

14:24 No doubt about who is the star attraction today - this is the crowd of photographers around Alonso's car a short time ago.

14:25 Liuzzi is straight back in again. Now Petrov leaves the pitlane.

14:25 Looks like Liuzzi might be resuming pit practice.

14:26 Rosberg has set out too.

14:27 Button starts a run as well.

14:28 @lucasdigrassi undeterred by this morning's crash: "I am fine, thanks. Next time I will go even faster, always pushing more and more"

14:31 Fauzy has resumed running, lapping in the 1m30s.

14:34 Now on track: Rosberg, Alonso, Button, Petrov and Fauzy.

14:35 Rosberg is five laps into a run that started in 1m23s but is now in 1m25s, Button looks like he's running heavy, having done three laps in 1m27s/1m28s.

14:39 @noblef1: "It looks like drivers are settling down for some long runs this afternoon - but don't rule out some glory runs at the end of the day"

14:41 Alguersuari comes out again. Rosberg is back in the 1m24s, with Alonso on a similar pace.

14:45 Fauzy pits after bringing Lotus's total for the day up to 56. Most times in that eight lap stint were 1m29s/1m30s.

14:50 Liuzzi and de la Rosa have hit the track too, so six of the 11 teams present are now in action.

14:55 And now it's just Rosberg, Alonso and Button as the smaller teams have pitted.

15:01 A big improvement from Fauzy, down to 1m28.482s - although he's still 6.9s off the overall pace and 1.4s shy of fellow new team Virgin, which has not run since di Grassi's accident.

15:02 Into the last hour, here's a times and laps recap: 1 Webber 1m21.487s (87); 2 Rosberg 1m22.514s (100); 3 Hulkenberg 1m22.684s (69); 4 de la Rosa 1m23.321s (65); 5 Alonso 1m24.170s (59); 6 Button 1m24.582s (82); 7 Alguersuari 1m24.869s (95); 8 Liuzzi 1m25.303s (52); 9 Petrov 1m26.208s (62); 10 di Grassi 1m27.057s (31); 11 Fauzy 1m28.044s (59)

15:03 Fauzy finds more time, down to 1m28.0s now.

15:04 A string of long runs have ended in the last few minutes. Rosberg did 24 laps, averaging 1m24.6s, Button did 20 laps with an average of 1m28.0s, and Alonso ran for 14 laps averaging 1m26.1s

15:05 Rosberg is back out already, but it's only him and Fauzy on the circuit now.

15:10 Fauzy did six laps, all in the 1m28s and 1m29s. Alguersuari and Liuzzi are heading out now.

15:12 Track gets busier again - here come Hulkenberg and de la Rosa.

15:12 The session has been stopped.

15:12 But as they do, the session is halted again.

15:14 Looks like it's Rosberg who has stopped on track, after Turn 10.

15:22 The session has restarted.

15:22 Alguersuari is first to leave the pits as the green flag comes out with just over half an hour remaining.

15:23 Hulkenberg, Alonso and de la Rosa set off too.

15:24 And Liuzzi and Fauzy as well.

15:27 Pacesetter Webber reappears after stopping on track earlier this afternoon.

15:28 De la Rosa and Liuzzi both go a fraction quicker than they previously had, without any change of positions.

15:28 Liuzzi then finds another 0.3s and takes seventh from Alguersuari.

15:31 Liuzzi keeps improving - but only by 0.001s this time.

15:32 Everyone bar Rosberg, Hulkenberg and di Grassi's damaged Virgin is now on track. Will we see a flurry of improvements in the last half hour?

15:32 Slightly quicker for de la Rosa again, down to 1m23.144s.

15:33 Liuzzi's times now suggest he's doing performance runs again, having done a thorough series of pitstop simulations earlier in the afternoon.

15:34 Button shaves 0.6s from his time and gets past Alonso for fifth.

15:35 While Petrov goes nearly 2s faster than he has all day and improves to seventh for Renault.

15:35 Quicker still for Button next time around - down to 1m23.5s.

15:37 Another improvement from Petrov brings him very close to Alonso's sixth place.

15:38 Hulkenberg goes a tenth faster and takes second place from Rosberg - although Webber's margin over the field remains a full second.

15:40 Just short runs for most of the drivers that time, with the majority returning to the pits and leaving just Webber, Button and Alonso circulating.

15:41 Webber is nine laps into this run, and doing consistent 1m25s.

15:41 Alonso has done 12 laps, and started in the high 1m24s, then shot up to 1m27s/1m28s for a while, but is now in low 1m25s.

15:42 And Button has done seven laps, mostly in high 1m23s.

15:44 Alonso has pitted after a 13 lap run mostly in 1m24s and 1m25s. Fauzy is back out.

15:45 Webber's times have come down to 1m24s, Button is reeling off consistent mid-1m23s.

15:46 Button improves by a further 0.027s.

15:48 A slight gain from Fauzy too, who is now on 1m28.002s.

15:49 Hulkenberg has rejoined and found another tenth, but Webber is still 0.9s ahead.

15:50 Now on track with 10 minutes to go: Webber, Hulkenberg, Button, Petrov, Alguersuari, Fauzy.

15:52 While some are doing short sprints to end the day, Webber and Button press on with their long runs - up to 17 and 15 laps respectively on these stints now.

15:53 Webber is in mid to high 1m24s, Button was doing consistent mid-1m23s but with a couple of substantially slower laps mid-run.

15:55 Alonso is back out, as are Petrov, Liuzzi and Alguersuari.

15:55 Just five minutes left so anyone keen to beat Webber today is going to have to make an enormous improvement.

15:55 And Hulkenberg, who has crept ever closer to Webber on his last few runs.

15:56 Liuzzi improves to 1m24.064s and takes sixth from Alonso.

15:56 The session has been stopped.

15:57 Not for the first time in recent tests, a red flag comes out with less than five minutes to go...

15:57 Looks like someone has stopped at Turn 10.

15:57 It's Button who has stopped in the McLaren.

15:58 Now waiting to see if that marks the end of today's running or if the session will be extended.

15:59 That's the end of the action for today.

16:00 So Webber ends up fastest by a comfortable 0.9s thanks to that string of fast late-morning laps, with Hulkenberg and Rosberg next up.

16:00 Alguersuari completed the most mileage today with 111 laps, just ahead of Webber on 109, Rosberg on 107 and Button on 101.

16:00 Thanks for following today's events with AUTOSPORT Live, join us again for more tomorrow.