• Barcelona Test Day One

Vettel sets quickest time on first day

ESPNF1 Staff
February 18, 2011 « Liuzzi to test for HRT over weekend | »
Fernando Alonso is wheeled back into the garage after his morning run © Sutton Images
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Sebastian Vettel recorded the fastest time on the opening day of the four-day test at Barcelona, edging out long-time leader Fernando Alonso in the last few minutes.

It was a slightly distracted day at the Catalunya circuit, with much of the talk centring on events in Bahrain and the possibility the final round of testing could be moved back to Spain. The teams meet tonight to discuss the situation, and Bernie Ecclestone's eyebrow-raising remarks will not have helped the mood.

Many of the fastest times of the day came in the second half of the morning. The first couple of hours saw drivers tentatively head out onto a track wet - but drying - after Thursday's torrential rain. As conditions improved, so did the lap times. In the afternoon the pattern was for longer runs, Michael Schumacher leading the way with 90 laps as he undertook a race simulation with regular pit stops.

Alonso started cautiously as Ferrari opted for constant-speed aero testing, but when he returned on slicks he straight away set the fastest time and he remained top of the pile until Vettel usurped him. As has been the case at Valencia and Jerez, Alonso, who had removed the beard he sported in previous tests, was the reason many fans had turned up and his every move was scrutinised closely.

Vettel had been largely absent other than a couple of short morning runs, and he only ventured out for 17 laps after lunch, but almost the last of those in the final quarter-of-an-hour was the one that mattered as he clipped more than a second off Alonso.

Jenson Button had looked impressive as the track dried, and until Alonso got serious was the quickest, but he got down to more routine work in the afternoon.

Vitaly Petrov had a frustrating day. He was supposed to have the car throughout, but his new team-mate Nick Heidfeld was given the first hour or so to enable him to work on his pit stops. But as he handed over the Renault developed software issues and when Petrov finally emerged his 20 laps were far more stop than start.

Paul di Resta was sidelined until 80 minutes from the end, but when he appeared he wasted no time and finished sixth fastest.

Narain Karthikeyan was still in the 2010 HRT - the 2011 version will be unveiled in the final round of testing - but got 116 valuable laps under his belt, one more than Jerome d'Ambrosio in the Virgin.

Times

Driver Car Time Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull RB7 1:24.374 37
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari F150 1:25.485 101
3. Jamie Algersuari Toro Rosso STR6 1:25.638 57
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber C30 1:25.641 78
5. Jenson Button McLaren MP4-26 1:26.365 77
6. Paul di Resta Force India VJM-04 1:26.575 26
7. Rubens Barrichello Williams FW33 1:26.912 52
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes WO2 1:27.512 90
9. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F110 1:28.393 116
10. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus T128 1:30.065 54
11. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin MVR-02 1:30,950 116
12. Vitaly Petrov Renault R31 1:35.174 20
13. Nick Heidfeld Renault R31 1:44.324 27

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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