Testing: Jerez – Vettel Fastest Ahead of McLaren, Kimi

The German driver, who had also been quickest in yesterday’s
session, was the only man who managed to lap the Spanish track in less
than 79 seconds, posting a best time of 1:18.843.

The Toro Rosso driver was one of five men who used slick tyres
today, although the German used the tyres for the whole session while
his rivals also ran with grooved rubber.

McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa was second quickest, the Spaniard using
the morning to work with a 2009 configuration, including slick tyres
and revised aero. In the afternoon he reverted to this year’s tyres.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest non-slick runner in third
place, with Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Alexander Wurz completing the
top six. All three drivers used slicks during the day.

The Finn concentrated on comparisons between various different set-up
options on the F2008, in preparation for the forthcoming races. Kimi
covered a total of 76 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.19.446. The Scuderia continues testing at this track tomorrow, again with Kimi Raikkonen on track.

Honda test driver Wurz caused the only red flag of the session when he suffered a suspected engine problem around noon. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was eighth after 81 laps, the Italian back to 2008 work after testing 2009 settings yesterday.

"After yesterday’s preparations for 2009, today we went back to this
year’s work," he said. "Our focus for the day was the Hungarian Grand
Prix, looking at set-up this morning because the afternoons here are
too windy and too hot for that.

"After lunch we worked on aerodynamic correlation between the
circuit and the wind tunnel. We tested some of the aero package for
Hungary and there is more to come later in the week. We made it through
a lot of laps and made progress.

"Today wasn’t about looking for lap times but about improving the
car. We are in a close fight for 4th in the constructors’ championship
and that is what we want to achieve."

Compatriot Tonio Liuzzi finished right behind with the Force India, who joined the test today after missing the first day.

Renault’s Nelsinho Piquet and BMW Sauber’s Christian Klien finished at the bottom of the times. The day was again very hot, with air temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius and track temperatures of around 50.

Today’s times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time     Laps
 1.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:18.843  100
 2.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:19.081  122
 3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari              (B)  1:19.446   76
 4.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:19.861  112
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:20.021  105
 6.  Wurz          Honda                (B)  1:20.416   77
 7.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:20.534   81
 8.  Liuzzi        Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:20.577  102
 9.  Piquet        Renault              (B)  1:20.827   99
10.  Klien         BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:20.866   89