Romain Grosjean was the man to grab the headlines and set a new benchmark in Jerez. The Lotus driver's time was 0.600s faster than Button's on the previous day. Di Resta and Ricciardo finished 2nd and 3rd.
Grosjean clocked a 1:18.218 in the afternoon, improving on his time from the morning that meant he was fastest at lunch. He completed an impressive 95 laps in total without any major issues as Lotus continued to work through its testing programme for the E21. Grosjean did stop on track at the end of the session, but that was as the team ran the car dry of fuel late in the day. Paul di Resta was second fastest, 0.785s off the Lotus, with Daniel Ricciardo finishing the second day third and within a second of Grosjean's time.
However, it was Lewis Hamilton who stole the limelight in the morning, albeit for all the wrong reasons. After just 15 laps his Mercedes suffered a loss of rear brake pressure and he crashed into the barriers at Dry Sac. He managed to lock up his front wheels to slow down ahead of the gravel trap but still dislodged his front wing against the tyres.
The team traced the problem to a hydraulic brake line connecting to the right rear, but had to call off its day's testing while a solution is engineered in time for Thursday's test. It was the second problem in as many days for the team after Nico Rosberg stopped on track with a faulty wiring loom on Tuesday that also needed a rethink. After the first two days of the test Mercedes has clocked up just 29 laps on its new W04.
Mark Webber had a more successful day for Red Bull, racking up 101 laps in total and setting the fourth fastest time. He was 0.164s clear of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg, which also had a productive day by completing 99 laps before it too coasted to a halt as part of a low-fuel test.
Hamilton's time before his accident was still good enough for sixth, suggesting the car could be quick given more mileage and by the end of the day he was faster than the man replacing him at McLaren, Sergio Perez. However, Perez will be happy with his 81 laps on his first day on the job as McLaren recovered from the fuel pump issue that limited Jenson Button's running on Tuesday.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa was eighth fastest overall and 1.696s off the pace and completed 78 laps after a couple of hours in the garage in the afternoon. Pastor Maldonado had a busy afternoon after only logging seven laps in the morning, but recovered well in last year's Williams to finish the day with a total of 71 laps and a best time of 1:20.693.
James Rossiter managed 19 laps in the final hour for Force India as the team's simulator driver took over from di Resta, while Giedo van der Garde managed a solid total of 88 laps for Caterham. It was a less productive day for Marussia, however, as an unknown engine problem caused its newly confirmed second driver Luiz Razia to coast to a halt after 31 laps in the morning session.
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