German ace bids farewell to STR test crew
Red Bull-bound sensation Sebastian Vettel was back behind the wheel of his Toro Rosso car today for his last test session with the spirited Italian squad
After his incredible maiden win in Monza the German ace was quickly ushered into Red Bull’s senior team to help with preparations for the final four remaining races.
But on the final day of testing at the Spanish test track, Vettel was back in the STR3 for what will probably be the last time he works with his test team.
He marked the event by taking photos with his mechanics before setting the fourth quickest time, four tenths shy of McLaren pace-setter Pedro de la Rosa.
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Renault’s test driver Lucas di Grassi lapped second and third quickest, just ahead of Vettel, with Sebastian Buemi in sixth ahead of Timo Glock, Alexander Wurz and Nico Rosberg.
GP2 star Sebastian Buemi tested the Toro Rosso car on Wednesday, alongside Takuma Sato, and is widely believed to be Red Bull’s preferred choice for a drive next year. But Team Principal Franz Tost admits that STR’s co-owners are in no rush to make an announcement.
“On Wednesday, Red Bull young driver Buemi was in the cockpit and, as expected, he did a good job. Despite only completing a few laps, Sato also put up a good performance.
“Although those two days were something of an audition for a 2009 seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull is in no hurry to make a decision at this point in the year, when we are concentrating on doing well in the final four races.”
After testing was interrupted by rain on the drivers were pleased to get some clear running in at last.
“That was a hectic day of testing because I carried out a lot of work for the different kinds of race tracks we have coming up,” said Glock. “We got through a lot of laps, finishing our programme without issues.
“It’s good that we had consistent weather today but it was still a bit tricky because yesterday’s rain on this new surface meant that there was only one line and the rest was really dirty. Nevertheless we made useful progress and gathered information that will help us in the final part of the season.”
