Hamilton: 90 plus laps a big positive

With the third of the four pre-season tests almost over, Lewis Hamilton admits it was a "big positive" to get more than 90 laps to his name at Barcelona

The McLaren driver replaced his team-mate Jenson Button at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday and led the charge on the Pirelli intermediate tyres when the track was wet in the morning.

With the track drying out as the day progressed, Hamilton dropped to third place on the timesheets, finishing 0.690s behind pace-setter Nico Rosberg.

But for the McLaren driver it was mileage that was more important as his team have fallen behind their rivals after a late launch and then being hit with reliability issues.

The 2008 World Champ managed to cover 93 laps on Day Three despite a few technical problems during the morning session.

"This was a positive day: we've been focusing on our programme, trying to complete as many laps as possible, improve reliability and understand the Pirelli tyres. We're learning more and more about them every day," said Hamilton.

"We've had a few technical issues with this car, but the guys have been working incredibly to rectify them.

"To get more than 90 laps under my belt today was a big positive, and I'm looking forward to a trouble-free day tomorrow."

Source: Planet-F1