The final day of pre-season testing is underway at Circuit de Catalunya with both Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton already lapping quicker than the quickest lap of the week - a 1:20.614 recorded by Nico Hulkenberg on Friday.
Hamilton is currently quickest in his McLaren Mercedes on a 1:20.472s best, just a fraction ahead of Massa’s Ferrari. The Italian team lost a little track time this morning with a mechanical problem on the F10, but were soon able to resume the programme.
Red Bull has opted to keep Sebastian Vettel in the car this morning before handing over to Mark Webber at lunch time. Vettel is currently third fastest, two-tenths off the ultimate pace.
Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher commented that the blustery conditions are making it a bit difficult on track but he too is showing good pace and is currently fourth ahead of Rubens Barrichello, who caused the first red flag of the morning when he spun his Williams Cosworth into the gravel at turn four. The FW32 today features the now common shark fin engine cover for the first time.
Sebastien Buemi is sixth for Toro Rosso Ferrari ahead of Kamui Kobayashi who stopped at turn nine in the Sauber Ferrari earlier this morning. Adrian Sutil is next up in his Force India Mercedes working on a race simulation.
Robert Kubica, ninth, took over the R30 for the final day of running, the team making some setup changes this morning and trying a new front wing for the first time.
Heikki Kovalainen echoed Schumacher’s comments about the blustery conditions and is currently tenth in the Lotus. Virgin Racing has fitted a Bahrain-spec gearbox to its VR-01 challenger today, completing some practice starts with Lucas di Grassi driving and working on general setup. However, another hydraulic issue has lost the team additional track time.
A full report to follow at the close of play.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | Hamilton | McLaren MP4-25 | 1:20.472 | +0.000 | 53 |
| 02. | Massa | Ferrari F10 | 1:20.539 | +0.067 | 55 |
| 03. | Vettel | Red Bull RB6 | 1:20.667 | +0.195 | 76 |
| 04. | Schumacher | Mercedes GP W01 | 1:20.745 | +0.273 | 55 |
| 05. | Barrichello | Williams FW32 | 1:20.925 | +0.453 | 40 |
| 06. | Buemi | Toro Rosso STR5 | 1:22.135 | +1.663 | 46 |
| 07. | Kobayashi | Sauber C29 | 1:22.713 | +2.241 | 32 |
| 08. | Sutil | Force India VJM03 | 1:23.079 | +2.607 | 60 |
| 09. | Kubica | Renault R30 | 1:24.293 | +3.821 | 35 |
| 10. | Kovalainen | Lotus T127 | 1:25.251 | +4.779 | 58 |
| 11. | Di Grassi | Virgin VR-01 | 1:26.790 | +6.318 | 35 |