Jenson Button ended the final day of testing at Jerez on top, as the team’s enjoyed their first rain-free session of the week.
Button set a superb 1m18.871s, during a series of short lap runs, to finish just over two tenths of a second ahead of Robert Kubica’s Renault. Kamui Kobayashi was third in his Sauber after overcoming a number of problems early on in the session, which saw the Japanese driver bring out the first red flag.
The day did not go to plan for yesterday’s pace-setter Mark Webber. The Australian found himself sidelined for several hours as Red Bull opted to change his Renault engine as a “precautionary” measure. Although the team have still to confirm the cause of the problem, Webber still managed eighty-seven laps and eighth place.
Fernando Alonso was unusually quiet for Ferrari, setting only the sixth time in the new F10. Nevertheless, the Spaniard completed over one hundred and thirty laps, suggesting that Ferrari were focusing on long runs.
Timo Glock began the session in superb fashion, lapping on the same pace as the midfield runners until a hydraulic issue sidelined his pursuit, after only twenty-eight laps. Despite this, the Virgin driver was still a second quicker than Jarno Trulli in the Lotus, who instead opted to work on the reliability of the brand new T127.
Jerez Day 4 times:
Pos Driver Team/Car Laptime Laps 1. J. Button McLaren MP4-25 1:18.871 108 laps 2. R. Kubica Renault R30 1:19.114 +0.243 117 laps 3. K. Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:19.188 +0.317 117 laps 4. V. Liuzzi Force India VJM-03 1:19.650 +0.779 80 laps 5. N. Rosberg Mercedes GP W01 1:20.061 +1.190 130 laps 6. F. Alonso Ferrari F10 1:20.436 +1.565 137 laps 7. J. Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR5 1:21.053 +2.182 139 laps 8. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB6 1:21.194 +2.323 87 laps 9. N. Hülkenberg Williams FW32 1:21.919 +3.048 137 laps 10. T. Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:22.433 +3.562 27 laps 11. J. Trulli Lotus F1 T127 1:23.470 +4.599 141 laps
