Lewis Hamilton found his and McLaren-Mercedes’ preparations for the F1 2011 World Championship campaign hampered and frustrated on day three of four at Jerez de la Frontera by a lack of spare parts for the MP4-26 – but there were no such issues for chief rivals Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.

Hamilton found himself limited to just 36 laps of the southern Spanish circuit as on-the-spot repairs were effected, with the relevant new components due to be delivered overnight ahead of Sunday’s running. Despite that, the British star reported positive progress with regard to set-up and understanding tyre performance, and ran with the new-for-2011 drag reduction system ahead of focussing fully on the adjustable rear wing at next week’s Barcelona test. Team-mate Jenson Button will take over on day four.