Alonso on top after day two in Valencia
Fernando Alonso was fastest in both sessions on Wednesday © Sutton Images
Fernando Alonso sent the assembled throng of home fans happy after setting the fastest time of the second day of testing at Valencia.
Having pipped Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull to the quickest time of the morning session, Alonso picked up the pace even further in the afternoon to finish with a quickest time of 1:13.307 to again beat Vettel in the timesheets.
Force India's Paul di Resta was third quickest but the day was not without incident for him as he spun off at turn two, bringing the morning session to a halt as he was craned out of the gravel trap. He still returned to complete a substantial 111 laps, more than any other driver in the day.
Rubens Barrichello was next to fall victim, pulling over at turn five with a mechanical issue before the team fixed the problem and he completed 45 laps. Barrichello later complained of balance problems with his new FW33 and also commented that the extra buttons on the steering wheel due to the KERS and adjustable rear wing could cause a distraction from driving the car.
Lewis Hamilton took over duties from McLaren reserve Gary Paffett and managed the fourth quickest time in the MP4-25, two days before the launch of the Woking team's latest challenger, rumoured to be incorporating the same innovative exhaust system that was the talk of the paddock yesterday on the Renault R31.
The Renault itself was only marginally slower, Robert Kubica finishing fifth fastest from the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan.
The biggest story of the morning was the track debut of the new Lotus but the fanfare was rather stymied when the new T128 could only complete a 15 laps due to a problem with the car's power steering. The team is flying out a new system overnight that shoould arrive in time for tomorrow's 09:00 start. Nevertheless, both Kovalainen and team boss Tony Fernandes were positive about the first day of running and believe it has the potential to be a points scorer this year.
Felipe Massa takes over Ferrari duties from Fernando Alonso on the final day of testing on Thursday.
Times
Driver Car Time Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari F150 1:13.307 103
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull RB7 1:13.614 43
3. Paul di Resta Force India VJM-03 1:13.844 110
4.. Lewis Hamilton McLaren MP4-25 1:14.353 84
5. Robert Kubica Renault R31 1:14.412 104
6. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F110 1:14.472 80
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP W02 1:14.645 69
8. Timo Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:15.408 34
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams FW33 1:16.023 50
10. Sergio Perez Sauber C30 1:16.198 42
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams FW33 1:16.266 29
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso STR6 1:16.359 46
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR6 1:16.474 64
14. Mark Webber Red Bull RB7 1:17.365 17
15. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus T128 1:20.649 15
Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)
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