On Thursday, the new and surprising Mercedes-Benz-powered Brawn BGP001 lapped the circuit of Barcelona faster than ever before in the capable hands of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
During one of his final runs of the day, Barrichello simulated a qualifying session and set fire to the tarmac with a quick lap of 1:18.926, beating the best time set yesterday by his teammate Jenson Button (1:19.127).
The veteran was the only driver to lap the Spanish track below the 1:19 mark.
Nico Rosberg had a solid day of work in the Williams-Toyota, finishing second and completing 120 laps of the Barcelona circuit.
Timo Glock clinched the 3rd time for Toyota, ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).
Reigning World champion Lewis Hamilton of team McLaren-Mercedes had another low-key session and finished nearly two seconds off the pace after 69 laps.
Interestingly, only 0.176 second separated the McLaren from the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella, both cars using the same engine, the same gearbox and transmission, and the same tires.
But it is said that since testing will be forbidden after Melbourne, McLaren may have used the Barcelona four-day test session to evaluate parts for the entire season, ranging from high-downforce Monaco wings to low-drag Monza body parts.
Thursday times:
Pos Driver Team Time* Laps
1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:18.926 110
2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:19.774 120
3. Glock Toyota 1:20.091 128
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:20.576 83
5. Alonso Renault 1:20.664 64
6. Massa Ferrari 1:20.677 92
7. Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:20.740 134
8. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.869 70
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.013 62
10. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:21.045 141
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.629 27
*Unofficial timing
photo:WRI2
During one of his final runs of the day, Barrichello simulated a qualifying session and set fire to the tarmac with a quick lap of 1:18.926, beating the best time set yesterday by his teammate Jenson Button (1:19.127).
The veteran was the only driver to lap the Spanish track below the 1:19 mark.
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| Team BMW-Sauber simulated a Grand Prix run, complete with the normal start procedure. |
Nico Rosberg had a solid day of work in the Williams-Toyota, finishing second and completing 120 laps of the Barcelona circuit.
Timo Glock clinched the 3rd time for Toyota, ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).
Reigning World champion Lewis Hamilton of team McLaren-Mercedes had another low-key session and finished nearly two seconds off the pace after 69 laps.
Interestingly, only 0.176 second separated the McLaren from the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella, both cars using the same engine, the same gearbox and transmission, and the same tires.
But it is said that since testing will be forbidden after Melbourne, McLaren may have used the Barcelona four-day test session to evaluate parts for the entire season, ranging from high-downforce Monaco wings to low-drag Monza body parts.
Thursday times:
Pos Driver Team Time* Laps
1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:18.926 110
2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:19.774 120
3. Glock Toyota 1:20.091 128
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:20.576 83
5. Alonso Renault 1:20.664 64
6. Massa Ferrari 1:20.677 92
7. Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:20.740 134
8. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.869 70
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.013 62
10. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:21.045 141
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.629 27
*Unofficial timing
photo:WRI2