Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher ended Friday on top of the timesheets as this week’s final pre-season test continued at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Schumacher’s best at the Spanish circuit, a 1m 21.249s, was over three tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari.
With Schumacher’s team mate Nico Rosberg in third, it was a good day all round for Mercedes GP. Renault’s Nick Heidfeld was fourth, ahead of Williams’ Rubens Barrichello and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. Kobayashi carried out a qualifying simulation in the morning followed by a race simulation after lunch. He covered 98 laps, but his day was cut short by a drive shaft issue.
“The morning was very productive with the track conditions for the qualifying practice quite cold and difficult compared to yesterday,” explained Sauber technical director James Key. “In the afternoon we did a race simulation, first using old tyres and then a new set at the end. Unfortunately we suffered a drive shaft problem which stopped us some laps early. The problem still has to be investigated.”
Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari took the seventh slot to finish ahead of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was eighth for Red Bull. Alguersuari completed 72 laps. Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen finished the day in ninth, outpacing Force India team mates Paul di Resta, 10th, and Adrian Sutil, 11th. Kovalainen completed 138 laps in the T128 and was pleased with how the day progressed.
"That is obviously a fantastic end to the tests,” said the Finn. “Everyone in the team has put in a lot of hard work and days like today are the reward. Completing a double-race distance has given us the chance to make a lot of progress on track and we have accumulated a huge amount of data that will be very helpful in Australia, Malaysia and China.
“I'm not only pleased with the mileage we've done today; I’m also pleased with the pace we've shown. It's too early to make predictions but I think we'll go to Melbourne and have a good chance to taking the step forward we want to. A good day!"
Williams’ Pastor Maldonado was 12th, ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button and Virgin’s Jerome D’Ambrosio, who was the day's final runner in 14th.
For the majority of teams, Friday was their last pre-season test day and they will return to their factories to continue preparations before the Australian Grand Prix later this month. Williams, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, however, will stay on for a final day on Saturday. HRT are expected to join the four squads as their F111 makes its on-track debut.
Full report to follow.
Unofficial Friday test times from Barcelona:
1. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:21.249
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:21.614
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:21.788
4. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:22.073
5. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:22.233
6. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:22.315
7. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:22.675
8. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.933
9. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:23.437
10. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:22.653
11. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:23.921
12. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.108
13. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:25.837
14. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:27.375
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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