Renault’s Robert Kubica set the fastest time today as the F1 circus concluded its three day test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
The Pole did only 95 laps, the fourth fewest, in his new R31 which features unusual forward-facing exhaust outlets. It remains to be seen how much of a real performance advantage the innovation brings, however.
Force India’s strong showing at the test was continued by Adrian Sutil who was second fastest, although the team are still running their 2010 car. McLaren’s Jenson Button and Mark Webber in the new Red Bull were third and fourth quickest respectively.
Michael Schumacher again failed to light the timesheets up, clocking ninth fastest time in his new Mercedes MGP W02. The W02 is quickly gaining a reputation as the best looking car on the grid.
Further down the order, Lotus Racing suffered as a result of the power steering failure on the car yesterday. Jarno Trulli did get out on track but failed to set a real lap time.
Times:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Robert Kubica Renault 1m13.144s 95
2. Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes* 1m13.201s +0.057 117
3. Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes* 1m13.553s +0.409 105
4. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 1m13.936s +0.792 105
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m14.017s +0.873 80
6. Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth* 1m14.207s +1.063 114
7. Pastor Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1m14.299s +1.155 101
8. Sergio Perez Sauber Ferrari 1m14.469s +1.325 104
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.537s +1.393 110
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m14.801s +1.657 73
11. Narain Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth* 1m16.535s +3.391 63
12. Jarno Trulli Lotus Renault no time 38
