On the final day of this week s testing at Jerez, Timo Glock in Toyota s new TF108 topped the timesheet on a damp day. Glock managed 96 laps of the track and also caused a red flag late on in the day when he ran off the track. His time was a full three tenths quicker than Lewis Hamilton in the new MP4-23.
Hamilton had a slightly troubled day, causing two red flags, both caused when he ran off the track. Perhaps it is not so surprising as track conditions were not easy showers overnight meant the session started with a damp track, with the surface only drying out late afternoon.
Fernando Alonso continues to impress on his return to the Renault team, finishing the day in third spot, with Sebastien Bourdais also impressing, finishing in fourth for Toro Rosso. Felipe Massa was surprisingly slow, in fifth position, just ahead of the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota s test driver who was out in last year s car. Kimi Raikkonen finished the day way down in eighth place.
It was another frustrating day for Super Aguri who were unable to get a car on-track. The team s first test day saw the car overheating and they ordered some parts in to cure the problem. However, the plane that was due to arrive at midday at Gibraltar ran into technical problems meaning the parts landed in Malaga instead. A team member tried to get the parts from Malaga to the Jerez track only to find the motorway between the two closed due to roadworks, and he was unable to rescue the stranded parts in time for the test.
Jerez Testing – Day 3 (18/01/2008)
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Glock Toyota 1:19.799 96*
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.099 73*
3. Alonso Renault 1:20.363 49
4. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.407 51
5. Massa Ferrari 1:20.500 85*
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.535 79*
7. Kobayashi Toyota 1:20.577 53
8. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.646 88*
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:20.758 57
10. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:21.705 71
11. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:22.275 53
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:22.581 54*
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Toyota 1:24.023 65
14. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:24.873 50
* = 2008 car
