Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson were the two drivers on-track at Jerez on Thursday for the teams’ third day of testing. Button clocked a fastest time of 1m 19.621 seconds, over eight-tenths quicker than Davidson. This is good news for Button who was unable to test earlier in the week due to a slight back injury.
Meanwhile over at Silverstone, Massa pushed the Toyota’s off top spot, finishing top of the timesheets with a quickest lap of 1m 20.805s, four-tenths faster than the second placed car of Nico Rosberg. There was a slight shower around midday but otherwise, conditions remained good at the British circuit.
Wednesday’s top driver, Jarno Trulli, had to settle for fifth place as he tested the different tyres, system evaluations and suspension tests.
Spyker didn’t have a good test, finishing at the back of the field. Christian Albers covered 35 laps in the morning session before an electrical problem forced him to stop. Test driver Van der Garde took over in the afternoon but span the car into a gravel trap on his first run, damaging his front suspension. The team worked quickly and were able to fix the damage, allowing Albers to go out for a few more laps.
All the teams will now be heading back to their respective factories to continue preparatios for the French Grand Prix.
Unofficial Thursday times from Silverstone:
1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.805
2. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.274
3. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:21.284
4. Nelson Piquet Jr, Renault, 1:21.357
5. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:21.703
6. David Coulthard, Red Bull, 1:21.933
7. Timo Glock, BMW Sauber, 1:22.456
8. Scott Speed, Toro Rosso, 1:23.049
9. Christijan Albers, Spyker, 1:23.374
10. Giedo van der Garde, Spyker, 1:25.865
