Saturday, March 5, 2016

Ferrari fastest as pre-season testing concludes in Barcelona



Sebastian Vettel ensured Ferrari top spot as the second and final pre-season test of 2016 came to its conclusion in Spain on Friday.

Vettel's morning benchmark of 1m 22.852s - set on the red-marked supersoft tyres - held over the afternoon. Ferrari therefore finished their pre-season having set the fastest overall time in each of the two tests, and on five of the eight days in total.

Vettel was also the day's busiest runner with 142 laps - a handful more than Carlos Sainz, who remained second for Toro Rosso. The Spaniard was the only driver in the top five to set his best lap on the new ultrasoft tyre.

Williams' Felipe Massa found the biggest gains in the afternoon to jump to third, fractionally ahead of Force India's Sergio Perez - who briefly triggered a red-flag period when he stopped at Turn 11.

Lewis Hamilton also brought proceedings to a halt when his Mercedes hit issues - a transmission problem - for the first time this year in the closing stages of the morning.

The Briton wound up fifth overall, while team mate Nico Rosberg - who took over for the Silver Arrows in the afternoon - propped up the timesheets in 13th.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren's Jenson Button and Sauber's Marcus Ericsson all broke the 100-lap barrier, and ended the day in sixth, seventh and ninth respectively.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer edged Ericsson for eighth, while behind Romain Grosjean put Haas 10th, marginally ahead of team mate Esteban Gutierrez - who subbed in for the final hours - and Manor's Rio Haryanto.

The latter managed just one installation lap as the team struggled with technical gremlins in the morning, but had clocked 58 laps when the chequered flag fell to bring the pre-season to a close.

Teams now have two weeks until the season-open in Grand Prix on March 18-20.
Friday's unofficial testing times from Barcelona
POSDriverTeam/CarBest lapGapLaps
1Sebastian VettelFerrari SF16-H1:22.852 142
2Carlos SainzToro Rosso-Ferrari STR111:23.1340.282133
3Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes FW381:23.6440.792129
4Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes VJM091:23.7210.86960
5Lewis HamiltonMercedes F1 W07 Hybrid1:24.1331.28169
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB121:24.4271.575123
7Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Honda MP4-311:24.7141.862121
8Jolyon PalmerRenault R.S.161:24.8592.00790
9Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari C351:25.0312.179132
10Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari VF-161:25.2552.40366
11Esteban GutierrezHaas-Ferrari VF-161:25.4222.57025
12Rio HaryantoManor Racing-Ferrari MRT051:25.8993.04758
13Nico RosbergMercedes F1 W07 Hybrid1:26.1403.28870

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