Lewis Hamilton showed the racism row that engulfed the sport less than ten days ago had borne few ill-effects as he returned to Spain and immediately shot to the top of the timesheets on a sunny day in
Jerez.
The young Briton – who covered 89 laps of the 4.428km track – set his fastest effort mid-morning. He was backed up by McLaren-Mercedes test driver Pedro de la Rosa just behind in second place.
The two Silver Arrows stars spent their time on aerodynamic development, with new components arriving from the
McLaren Technology Centre throughout the day. Hamilton's 2008 team-mate
Heikki Kovalainen will replace de la Rosa on day two.
Robert Kubica wound up 'best-of-the-rest' in the first of the two BMW Sauber
F1.08s present at the test, four tenths and three spots in front of team-mate
Nick Heidfeld, with the duo completing 91 and 94 laps respectively of the southern Spanish circuit and concentrating on set-up work, systems checks and practice starts.
The Munich and Hinwil-based outfit was hampered only by the strong and intermittent winds during the afternoon making for inconsistent conditions, and
BMW's main focus on day two will be on aerodynamics and braking.
Kazuki Nakajima served signal of the fact that
Williams' front wing problems are now well-and-truly behind them by setting the fourth-fastest time in the new FW30, less than a tenth away from Kubica and with team-mate
Nico Rosberg almost half a second slower in eighth.
‘Last week's issues with the front wing mounting have been resolved,' read a team statement, ‘and both drivers completed a list of development items.'
Nelsinho Piquet completed a marathon 120 laps in
Renault's R28 as the
Régie prepares for three tests in as many weeks with the new campaign fast-approaching. The Brazilian concentrated on basic set-up work to improve the car's balance and longer runs in the afternoon, displaying encouraging consistency.
