• Jerez Test Report - Day Four

Button throws down marker to rivals

ESPNF1 Staff
February 20, 2010 « US F1 asks to miss four races | »
Jenson Button set the fastest time of the past two weeks © Sutton Images
Enlarge
Related Links

Jerez Gallery - Day Four

World champion Jenson Button laid down a marker by finishing the final day of testing in Jerez at the top of the timesheets.

Only four days of pre-season running now remain before the start of the season, and just like Lewis Hamilton did last week, Button sent a warning to his competitors by clocking the fastest lap on a short run. More indicative of the McLaren's race pace were a series of consistent times pumped out by Button over longer stints. His laps appeared to rival that of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, but without knowing the fuel loads they were running, little can be read into the times. Button's was the fastest lap of the last two weeks at the Spanish circuit, but it's worth remembering that Bridgestone also brought the faster soft-compound tyre to this test that was not available last week.

Robert Kubica proved the pace of the Renault by setting the second fastest time. He recorded his best lap while completing a seven lap run and then went on to focus on longer stints, one of which appeared to be on a very heavy fuel load. Kamui Kobayashi was third fastest in the Sauber after the team solved its fuel system problem it had yesterday. He racked up 117 laps despite causing a red flag when the car stopped on track in the first hour.

Nico Hulkenberg caused a red flag when his car stopped on the main straight © Sutton Images
Enlarge

Force India's Tonio Liuzzi was fourth fastest followed by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Alonso's Ferrari. Masses of fans turned out to watch the Spaniard and he did not disappoint, completing 133 laps in total. His compatriot Jaime Alguersuari was seventh fastest in the Toro Rosso, ahead of sister team Red Bull, which had Mark Webber on duty.

Webber caused a Red Flag midway through the day and the team performed a precautionary engine change before sending him back out. Williams' Nico Hulkenberg put plenty of mileage on the FW32 again, but had his running cut short when he stopped on the main straight in the final hour and didn't re-emerge from the pits.

Virgin had another difficult day, completing just 27 laps with Timo Glock at the wheel. The team did not reveal the source of the problems, although it was rumoured that it was struggling with its hydraulics system. There was a silver lining, however, in that the VR-01's best lap was a second faster than rivals Lotus, who had Jarno Trulli at the wheel. It was Trulli's first chance to drive the new T127 and the team announced its pleasure in racking up a massive 144 laps (over two race distances) with no major problems.

Testing will resume on Thursday next week in Barcelona.

Pos. Driver Car Best Time Laps
1. Jenson Button McLaren MP4-25 1:18.871 108
2. Robert Kubica Renault R30 1:19.114 117
3. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:19.188 117
4. Tonio Liuzzi Force India VJM03 1:19.650 80
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes W01 1:20.061 130
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari F10 1:20.436 137
7. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR5 1:21.053 139
8. Mark Webber Red Bull RB6 1:21.194 87
9. Nico Hulkenberg Williams FW32 1:21.919 137
10. Timo Glock Virgin VR-01 1:22.433 28
11. Jarno Trulli Lotus T127 1:23.470 141

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
ESPN Staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices