Rising Swiss talent shows his worth again in Jerez
Sebastien Buemi caught the eye again on the second day of testing in Jerez after eclipsing Red Bull Racing star Sebastien Vettel to take up his now familiar position at the top of the time sheets.
The Swiss driver, who is currently filling in for established Red Bull driver Mark Webber as the Aussie recovers from his cycling accident, posted a 1:17.029 around the Spanish track, just under three tenths quicker than Vettel.
“It’s been a very good test so far,” said Buemi after spending the day working on the setup of the hybrid RB4 and acclimatising the car to the new 2009-spec ‘slick’ tyres.
“We’ve been improving with every lap, which is really good for next season and I’m happy. We’re learning more about the slick tyres too, which is important. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and trying to improve myself more.”
Nick Heidfeld lapped third quickest for BMW Sauber having spent the day working on the mechanical setup of the F1.08.
“After the delay in the morning the weather was nearly perfect, so overall it was a good day for me,” said Heidfeld.
“I did short as well as long runs to compare tyre wear. At the end of the session I did some race start simulations, as this is also an area where we have to adjust to the slick tyres.”
Robert Kubica was behind the wheel of BMW Sauber’s KERS-fitted F1.08 and spent the day developing the device.
Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima was the only other driver to take part and lapped just three tenths of a second slower than Kubica.
Unofficial Tuesday times from Jerez:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Sebastien Buemi Red Bull 1:17.029
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:17.319
3. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:19.303
4. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.006
5. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1:20.332
