After two days of
Felipe Massa leading the way,
Ferrari team-mate Luca Badoer moved to the front as post-season
Formula One testing headed into its third day at Catalunya.
On the final day of running for the
Scuderia, Badoer was joined on track by fellow test driver Marc Gene as the pair continued with the teams programme focused on endurance running, testing of new components and general set-up work with the 248
F1. Badoer wracked up 88 laps during the course of the day with a best lap of 1min 16.318secs not only the quickest of the day, but the fastest posted so far this week. Team-mate Gene meanwhile, on his one and only day at the wheel, was sixth.
Behind Badoer,
Renault's
Heikki Kovalainen was the busiest man on circuit en route to the second quickest time. As the
regie also concluded its weeks work, the young Finn got his first taste of the teams new 2007 gearbox, with the focus being on getting feedback from the man who will step up to a race seat in the season opener in Australia next March. Completing well over 100 laps, Kovalainen posted a fastest lap of 1min 16.684secs, the third fastest lap of the week on his first test session with the new
Bridgestone tyres.
“This was a good final day for the team. I am pleased because we made good progress this week, and worked very hard on all three days,” he said. “This is a good starting point, and we have a long winter's work ahead of us, starting next week in
Jerez.”
Robert Kubica was third quickest for
BMW Sauber as he concentrated on tyre testing as well as running a new gearbox. A hydraulic problem meant he lost some time in the morning, but went on to complete several long and short runs in the afternoon as the team concluded its first test with the Bridgestone tyres, declaring itself pleased with the support received from the new tyre supplier.
