Red Bull topped the times for the third day in succession on Thursday at the
Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain, but this time it was the turn of 'A' team member,
Mark Webber to set the pace.
Webber, who completed 85 laps in total, was quickest on a 1 minute 19.176 seconds, which was just under two tenths up on his closest rival - although the best time of the week stays at a 1m 18.843s, set by
Sebastian Vettel on day 2.
Webber focused mainly on aero development work and suspension changes today, in preparation for the next two races in Hungary and Valencia. The team reported that he made good progress - and that he also carried out some tyre tests to complete the programme that was stated on Wednesday.
"We've had a pretty good two days here. The car ran pretty reliably and we've clocked up some good mileage," said the Aussie. "Today we were mostly getting ready for Budapest, as well as looking at developments for a little later in the season.
"Yesterday we were focusing more on '09, and it was quite a challenging day. Today was better in terms of what we learned, mechanically and aerodynamically. It's been a hot week for the guys working here and they've done a good job."
Nelson Piquet Jr was 'best of the rest' for
Renault and he did 95 laps in total in conditions, which were again incredibly hot, with track temperatures once again creeping up to 46°C in the middle of the afternoon.
He ran on grooved tyres to begin with to get a good baseline and understanding of the car before attention shifted to running with 2009 slick
Bridgestone tyres as part of the team's preparations for next year.
"It was very hot once again today, but it has been like that all week so we are getting used to it," said Piquet Jr. "We spent most of the day looking ahead to next year by running with slick tyres, which was very interesting.
"They felt good, gave plenty of grip, and the car was working well. We also did some set-up work, evaluating the changes to try and improve the overall balance. So, overall another good day's work."
