Jerez test - day three: 14 December.
The McLaren-Mercedes team topped the times for the second day running today [Saturday] at Jerez, this time though Kimi Raikkonen took the honours for the Woking based team, while test driver Alexander Wurz was forced to settled for fourth.
Mark Webber had a better day and with no engine problems, unlike yesterday, notched up the second quickest time, a 1 minute 20.304 seconds. The Australian completed 95 laps in total, a big improvement considering he only managed 14 on Friday.
The McLaren-Mercedes team topped the times for the second day running today [Saturday] at Jerez, this time though Kimi Raikkonen took the honours for the Woking based team, while test driver Alexander Wurz was forced to settled for fourth.
Mark Webber had a better day and with no engine problems, unlike yesterday, notched up the second quickest time, a 1 minute 20.304 seconds. The Australian completed 95 laps in total, a big improvement considering he only managed 14 on Friday.
British American Racing test driver Anthony Davidson was third, taking over the BAR-Honda 004 from 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. Davidson's best was a 1m 20.657s, which was around two seconds up on BAR new boy, Jenson Button. Button completed 72 laps and was in a constructive mood.
"This has been a positive test for me - a good starting point," commented Button. "It's better to get to know the team before I get into the new car which I'm looking forward to driving for the first time in January. I feel very much at home with the team. There's a good vibe and I've started to build a good relationship with my engineers who seemed happy with my feedback. I'm looking forward to a good break now before we start testing next month."
BMW WilliamsF1 and Renault also had drivers in action - the top Williams car was Ralf Schumacher in fifth, and fellow Williams driver Marc Gene was seventh. Renault's Fernando Alonso was sixth, the meat in the Williams sandwich while running with the hybrid R202. The other standard R202 Renault was ran by Franck Montagny and Sebastien Bourdais, Montagny running in the morning before handing over to Bourdais this afternoon.
Leading performances (14 December):
1. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes 1m 19.774secs 49 laps**
2. Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1m 20.304s 95 laps**
3. Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 1m 20.657s 54 laps*
4. Alex Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m 20.905secs 76 laps**
5. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1m 21.352secs 75 laps**
6. Fernando Alonso Renault 1m 22.076secs 70 laps**
7. Marc Gene Williams-BMW 1m 22.228s 62 laps**
8. Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1m 22.652s 72 laps*
9. Franck Montagny Renault 1m 24.480s 48 laps**
10. Sebastien Bourdais Renault 1m 23.700s 22 laps**
* denotes Bridgestone tyres
** denotes Michelin tyres
Weather / Track conditions: Dry, but 'green' following heavy overnight rain.
