Ferrari's Felipe Massa tops the time sheet at Barcelona test session
Ferrari's Felipe Massa set the fastest lap time at the final day of testing at Barcelona on Monday. This is the second time during the test sessions for Massa to hit the sharp end of the time-sheet. Also at Jerez, earlier this month, the Brazilian stamped
the best lap of the day. However, this lap time was the best in the four days of test session, completing in just 1:22.625s.
Almost all through the day the Red Bull driver, Mark Webber dominated the track, while only during the last half an hour, Massa started getting momentum and ultimately ended the day at the top of the tally.
Many predict to see a whole new pace and form by the junior team owned by Red Bull, Toro Rosso, whose driver Sebastien Buemi stamped the third fastest lap of the day.
Nick Heidfeld, recently signed by Lotus Renault GP ended fourth as the team struggled with its KERS in the afternoon and was not able to complete a lot of distance.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had a good day as his new car, MP4-26 covered over 100 laps for the first time in a single day, setting the fifth fastest time. On the other hand, the day had not been a brilliant one for Mercedes GP.
After a very encouraging test drive by Nico Rosberg on Sunday, the seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher was not able to park the team’s new car W02 anywhere above tenth place.
However, Jarno Trulli had the worst day among all, as his Lotus - only after the first 18 laps - pitched the Italian into the barriers. The car was immediately taken to the team garage for repair while Trulli was spared for the rest of the day.
Although the third pre-season test session has also come to an end, still very little could be predicted for the upcoming season. So far, Red Bull seems the fastest once again this year, Ferrari follows it while McLaren could be the third fastest on the
2011 grid.
Moreover, Mercedes GP does not seem very competitive and might not be seen at the forefront for the title battle again this year. The seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher accepted earlier this month that the team cannot fight for the title this
season but will struggle to claim as many podiums and few race wins as it can.
However, Lotus Renault GP had been very unfortunate to lose their ace driver Robert Kubica even before the beginning of the season, which will affect their performance immensely. Although Heidfeld is a senior driver but he might not be able to match the
pace of Kubica.
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