Valencia day two: Alonso rules supreme
In a day with many firsts, the pecking order at the end of day two in Valencia was headlined by two familiar foes, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
Much of the talk heading into Wednesday's session revolved around the appearance of Lotus' T128, with the team the only outfit not to get any running on day one.
Indeed, Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus was the first car out on the Circuito Ricardo Tormo on Wednesday morning. The Finn's presence was brief however, with the team bringing the T128 back into the garage after its instillation lap.
It was there that it remained for most of the day, with a brief 15-lap salvo in the afternoon interrupted by a problem with the car's power steering which ultimately proved terminal in terms of the day's activities.
The T128 was not the only newcomer to the fold, with Sauber's Sergio Perez and Williams' Pastor Maldonado getting their first taste of F1 pre-season testing.
Rubens Barrichello electrical problem brought out the first red flag before the session had really begun, with the flying Scotsman Paul di Resta briefly topping the tables with a 1:13.844 before he too brought a halt to proceedings after spinning at turn two.
Di Resta impressed for the most part, putting Force India's 2010 model in third place in the day's final classification.
Renault and Mercedes may have been the two teams fighting it out behind the frontrunners last season, but the two teams are having vastly different fortunes thus far in 2011.
Kubica improved on yesterday's performance from Vitaly Petrov by some distance, notching up a 1:14.412, the fourth fastest time of the session, and the third quickest by a team using a 2011 model.
Conversely, Merc GP's struggles continued on Wednesday. Having been hindered by a hydraulics problem on day one, Rosberg brought out his second red flag in two days when he came to a standstill at turn eleven. Rosberg was able to post a 1:14.645, a second faster than the team's best yesterday and while the day was interrupted it was still more productive.
Lewis Hamilton was out on track for the second day in succession, putting the McLaren MP4-25 through its paces. Perhaps it was because McLaren weren't offering up their new challenger, but despite putting in 83 laps, Hamilton went largely unnoticed throughout the day, notching up the fourth best time of the day (1:14.353) but at no stage troubling Alonso and Vettel.
Di Resta, Kubica and Vettel all held the day's fastest time at some stage during the morning's opening hours, but by the break it was Alonso who headed the field with a 1:13.307, and that remained the top time of the day.
A statement from Ferrari said that Alonso was focusing first on "aerodynamic tests" and then a "comparison test between various types of Pirelli tyre," but regardless by what the Spaniard was looking for, the F150's ability to outpace the Red Bull of Vettel will come as a welcome relief to many after the RB6's performance on day one suggested that Red Bull may once again have a great early dominance.
While Vettel was behind the wheel during the morning, Mark Webber was given a run in the afternoon, but curiously only came out on track with half-an-hour left in the day. As a result it came as no surprise when he failed to post a time of any substance.
Perhaps the shock of the day was a late burst from Narain Karthikeyan and his Hispania car to post a time of 1:14.472, the sixth fastest of the day and superior to many more fancied campaigners.
Unofficial Times:
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:13.307s 108 laps
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault 1:13.614s +0.307 43 laps
03. Paul di Resta Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1:13.844s +0.537 111 laps
04. Leiws Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1:14.353s +1.046 83 laps
05. Robert Kubica Renault 1:14.412s +1.105 104 laps
06. Narain Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth 1:14.472s +1.165 80 laps
07. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:14.645s +1.338 69 laps
08. Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth 1:15.408s +2.101 34 laps
09. Rubens Barrichello Williams Cosworth 1:16.023s +2.716 51 laps
10. Sergio Perez Sauber Ferrari 1:16.198s +2.891 42 laps
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1:16.266s +2.959 29 laps
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:16.359s +3.052 46 laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:16.474s +3.167 64 laps
14. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 1:17.365s +4.058 17 laps
15. Hiekki Kovalainen Lotus Renault 1:20.649s +7.342 15 laps
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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