Monday, March 16, 2009

Barrichello fastest as final test begins

Barrichello fastest as final test begins

Rubens Barrichello continued Brawn GP's superb winter form by topping the first day of the final pre-season Formula 1 test at Jerez.

The Brazilian completed 107 laps and was fastest for most of his day, his 1m19.236s lap beating second-placed Fernando Alonso by 0.683 seconds.

It was a tough session for Renault, as Alonso crashed at Turn 8 after just four laps in the morning and was unable to return to the track until the final hours of the test. He eventually managed 33 laps and set his best time late on.

Alonso admitted that the accident had been caused by a driving error.

"Unfortunately I made a mistake this morning which was a shame as we lost a lot of track time, but sometimes this happens in testing when you are looking for the limits of the car," he said.

Williams test driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the runners, lapping 0.196s slower than Alonso.

McLaren is also present at this week's test but has decided to run from Monday to Thursday rather than Sunday to Wednesday as originally planned. Lewis Hamilton will drive for the first two days before handing over to team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:19.236 107 2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:19.819 40 3. Hulkenberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.015 69 All Timing Unofficial

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