ROMAIN Grosjean made sure Lotus’ return to testing was a positive one by going fastest on day one of the final pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona yesterday. The Frenchman waited until there was less than 30 minutes remaining for the day before he set the benchmark time of 1m 23.252s, using a set of Pirelli’s soft tyres to eclipse Jenson Button’s fastest time from the morning’s session.
Faster times were a rarity in the afternoon sessions, with teams opting to use the stable track conditions to go for longer runs. Grosjean was one of only two drivers to improve after lunch, the other being Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber.
However, Webber was only able to shave a tenth off his best morning time, leaving him behind Button and Perez – both with morning times in fourth for the day.
Behind Webber it was Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes driver, the busiest of the day with 128 laps for the day, mostly completed over long stints. Jean-Eric Vergne was sixth fastest, with Toro Rosso dedicating much of the last hour to pitstop practice.
Felipe Massa had a busy afternoon, eventually completing 105 laps for the day, despite a lengthy stay in the pits after lunch. However, his best time was only good enough for eighth.
Vitaly Petrov, subbing for the ill Heikki Kovalainen, was the second busiest man of the day, putting the new Caterham through 123 laps.
His reward was avoiding the bottom of the time sheets, with Petrov ending the day 0.711s clear of Pastor Maldonado, the Williams driver completing the least number of laps for the day with just 58.
Testing resumes today at Barcelona and yesterday’s times read: Grosjean (Lotus) 1m23.252s 73, Button (McLaren) +0.258 64, Perez (Sauber) +0.568 118, Webber (Red Bull) +0.578 102, Rosberg (Mercedes) +0.740 128, Vergne (Toro Rosso) +0.964 113, Di Resta (Force India)+1.053 98, Massa (Ferrari) +1.066 105, Petrov (Caterham) +1.624 123 and Maldonado (Williams)+2.335 58.
Grosjean trumps Button’s time in Barcelona
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