Massa off to a flying start at Jerez
Felipe Massa wasted no time in setting a fast flying lap at Jerez © Getty Images
Felipe Massa kicked off the second pre-season test of the 2011 season at the top of the timesheets, with a 1:20.709 around the Jerez circuit early on Thursday morning.
After three days at Valencia last week, the teams have ventured further south in Spain for four days running at the circuit most famous for the 1997 title decider. However, despite the lower latitude drivers and team members were still huddled up in coats as the test got underway in sunny but cold conditions.
The times mean relatively little this early in the testing calendar, but for what it's worth Sauber's Sergio Perez was second fastest, 0.774 off Massa's pace. Perez, like fellow rookies Daniel Ricciardo and Pastor Maldonado, will be more interested in boosting his F1 experience than setting fast times, but going to lunch ahead of the likes of Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton was no bad thing.
Ricciardo was third fastest after getting his first taste of the new Toro Rosso STR6. Although not a race driver this year, Ricciardo will be taking part in Friday morning practice sessions and every mile at the wheel will be incredibly valuable. By lunch he had competed over 30 laps.
Three new cars hit the track for the first time at Jerez, with the McLaren MP4-26, the Force India VJM-04 and the Virgin MVR-02 all emerging from their respective garages in the morning. Hamilton was at the wheel of the McLaren and completed over 25 laps by midday with the fourth fastest time. The Force India and Virgin had a less successful debut with neither setting a time and their lap counts remaining in single figures. Force India admitted to a few "teething problems" with its new car while Virgin hopes to be back on track in the afternoon. Williams also had limited running due to a moveable rear-wing actuator problem on the FW33.
Renault, which is still reeling from the news that Robert Kubica will miss the start of the season due to a serious rallying accident last weekend, put Vitaly Petrov to work in the R31. However, he only completed 14 laps before an oil leak meant he had to return to the pits for repairs, where mechanics balanced their time between fixing the problem and eating sandwiches and sausage rolls for lunch.
Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna will be evaluated as possible replacements for Kubica later this week, while rumours continue to circulate that Kimi Raikkonen and Tonio Liuzzi are still in with a shot. The thoughts of the paddock were clearly with Kubica, however, as several teams put get-well-soon messages in Polish on their cars.
Times
Driver Car Time Laps
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari F150 1:20.709 35
2. Sergio Perez Sauber C30 1:21.483 60
3. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso STR6 1:21.755 31
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren MP4-26 1:21.914 32
5. Mark Webber Red Bull RB7 1:22.257 30
6. Vitaly Petrov Renault R31 1:24.453 14
7. Jarno Trulli Lotus T128 1:24.792 28
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes W02 1:24.805 16
9. Adrian Sutil Force India VJM-04 No time 3
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams FW33 No time 2
11. Timo Glock Virgin MVR-02 No time 1
Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)
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