Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima set the quickest time of the day - and the week - at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain. His Williams-Toyota smashed the time set by the new Brawn-Mercedes of Jenson Button.
The William FW31's time of 1:17.494 was nearly 4/10ths of a second quicker than the time set by Button.
Finland's Heikki Kovalainen set McLaren's best time of the week after 84 laps, showing a significant improvement. New components, which arrived from the McLaren Technology Centre overnight, were fitted to the car for today's session receiving productive feedback.
Both the Williams and the McLaren stopped on track at the end of the day. Either the teams wanted to get an accurate fuel mileage and let the cars run until they ran out of petrol. Or maybe it was a consequence of a destructive test, pushing the engine until they break.
The teams returned to their base and started their preparations for the Australian Grand Prix.
Thursday times:
Pos Driver Team Time* Laps
1. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:17.494 102
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.946 84
Best times* of the week:
Sunday March 15, Barrichello, Brawn GP, 1:19.236
Monday March 16: Alonso, Renault, 1:18.343
Tuesday March 17: Button, Brawn GP, 1:17.844
Wednesday March 18: Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:18.202
Thursday March 19: Nakajima, Williams, 1:17.494
*Unofficial timing
photo:Williams
The William FW31's time of 1:17.494 was nearly 4/10ths of a second quicker than the time set by Button.
Finland's Heikki Kovalainen set McLaren's best time of the week after 84 laps, showing a significant improvement. New components, which arrived from the McLaren Technology Centre overnight, were fitted to the car for today's session receiving productive feedback.
Both the Williams and the McLaren stopped on track at the end of the day. Either the teams wanted to get an accurate fuel mileage and let the cars run until they ran out of petrol. Or maybe it was a consequence of a destructive test, pushing the engine until they break.
The teams returned to their base and started their preparations for the Australian Grand Prix.
Thursday times:
Pos Driver Team Time* Laps
1. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:17.494 102
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.946 84
Best times* of the week:
Sunday March 15, Barrichello, Brawn GP, 1:19.236
Monday March 16: Alonso, Renault, 1:18.343
Tuesday March 17: Button, Brawn GP, 1:17.844
Wednesday March 18: Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:18.202
Thursday March 19: Nakajima, Williams, 1:17.494
*Unofficial timing
photo:Williams