• Jerez Test Day Four

Barrichello sets the early pace

ESPNF1 Staff
February 13, 2011 « Fernandes rejects $10m offer to settle naming dispute | »
Under the spotlight ... Bruno Senna recovers from a spin © Sutton Images
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Rubens Barrichello has set the fastest time seen so far in Jerez on the final day of testing, posting a time of 1:19.832 seconds on the fourth and final morning, almost a second clear of Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and more than a second ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

The morning session, conducted under grey skies, was a stop-start affair after three red flags. Jerome d'Ambrosio stopped his Virgin because of oil-pressure issues, and soon after Nico Rosberg brought his Mercedes to a halt. Those incidents were followed by Kobayashi depositing his car into the gravel.

Aside from Rosberg, the other big guns out - Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel - were content to continue testing their cars and showed little sign they were concerned with posting fast times.

It was an important day for Bruno Senna, given his chance to impress by Renault after Nick Heidfeld enjoyed such a successful day on Saturday. The sight of him in the black-and-gold livery so closely associated with his uncle drew inevitable comparisons, but Renault played down attention on his times by insisting the day was about "new tyre runs and evaluating some changes to the car".

"A successful first morning in the Renault," Senna tweeted. "A very full test programme, a great feeling, good pace but more work to do."

Times

Driver Car Time Laps
1. Rubens Barrichello Williams FW33 1:19.832 84
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber C30 1:20.601 66
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari F150 1:21.074 72
4. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso STR6 1:21.213 56
5. Bruno Senna Renault R31 1:21.990 55
6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull RB7 1:22.222 51
7. Jenson Button McLaren MP4-26 1:22.278 49
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes WO2 1:22.773 18
9. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin MVR-02 1:22.985 18
10. Paul di Resta Force India VJM-04 1:23.111 67
11. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus T128 1:24.023 35

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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