Even the wet tracks at Jerez could not prevent Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel from clocking his best time at 1m 22.593s. After wet weather had proven hindrance at last week’s round of testing, most teams came in yesterday with the hope of getting some worthy track time. However, rain and heavy wind played havoc for most part of the day yet again, with clear conditions opening up for a while after lunch.

Sebastian Vettel was followed right behind by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who lapped a fraction of a second behind. Felipe Massa, donning the Ferrari mantle came in third after 72 laps, followed by Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi in his STR5 in 79 laps. BMW Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa came in fifth just ahead of Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher who clocked in sixth at 1m 23.803s after 111 laps.

Schumacher sure seems happy with his switch to Mercedes. After the day’s pre-season testing at Jerez he said “From the laps that we achieved, we have again confirmed the reliability of the car, and from the impressions and data gathered, we can say that the pace and performance looks very good.”

Team Lotus was one of the first teams to hit the tracks today on their new Cosworth-powered T127, however an issue with its power steering didn’t allow it to perform at its full potential. Malaysian driver Fairuz Fauzy came in eleventh on the T127, and managed to complete 76 laps, good enough to give him his super license. “It’s been an excellent day for the whole team. Firstly I want to say a big thank you to Fairuz who did an excellent job today with the first proper day of running,” said Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne.

Unofficial Wednesday times from Jerez:

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.593, 104 Laps
2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:23.017, 72 Laps
3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:23.204, 72 Laps
4. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:23.322, 79 Laps
5. Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber, 1:23.367, 76 Laps
6. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:23.803, 111 Laps
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:24.272, 28 Laps
8. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:25.088, 74 Laps
9. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:26.237, 55 Laps
10. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:27.320, 109 Laps
11. Fairuz Fauzy, Lotus, 1:31.848, 76 Laps
12. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:34.417, 10 Laps