Mark Webber set the quickest time of day one in Barcelona as the testing season draws to a close. The Red Bull driver set a 1:22.544, over three tenths quicker than the next best man.
That next best man happened to be Jenson Button. The Brit circulated the Catalunya track 74 times, the third highest after Sergio Perez and Webber.
McLaren sparked some creative discussion up and down the pitlane after running an intriguing ‘bump’ on the front-nose cone, though it was purely a testing device, rather than a race innovation.
Vitaly Petrov held off Perez to take third behind Button, though the Russian was only in the car for half the day, swapping with Nick Heidfeld, whom finished fifth quickest, over two seconds behind the lead time.
Air Asia GP2 drivers Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia both lapped the Team Lotus T128 throughout the day, the former completing 50 laps, his best a 1:25.4, whilst Razia was over a second slower in tenth.
Several teams didn’t run today, Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and HRT. They will join the circuit tomorrow.
Test times from day one (Barcelona):
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:22.544 | 97 | |
| 02. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:22.910 | +0.366 | 74 |
| 03. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:22.937 | +0.393 | 27 |
| 04. | S.Perez | Sauber | 1:24.117 | +1.573 | 90 |
| 05. | N. Heidfeld | Renault | 1:24.735 | +2.191 | 20 |
| 06. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:25.039 | +2.495 | 38 |
| 07. | D. Valsecchi | Team Lotus | 1:25.406 | +2.862 | 50 |
| 08. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:26.004 | +3.460 | 48 |
| 09. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:26.030 | +3.486 | 31 |
| 10. | L. Razia | Team Lotus | 1:26.723 | +4.179 | 29 |
| 11. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:32.060 | +9.516 | 57 |
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