Barcelona Testing 2 – Day 4: Räikkönen Ends Pre-Season Testing on Top
After Romain Grosjean during the first two days, the Lotus F1 team once again finished a day on top in Barcelona. This time it was Kimi Räikkönen who set the fastest time on the last day of pre-season testing.
Räikkönen set the fastest time of the eight test days held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with a lap of 1:22.030. The Finn achieved his time late in the morning during a qualifying stint with Soft tires.
He leads today’s standings ahead of Fernando Alonso, Bruno Senna, Nico Hülkenberg, and Kamui Kobayashi. Like yesterday, the day was relatively undisturbed by red flags – only two in the afternoon. This allowed teams to work on short stints in the morning and race simulations in the afternoon.
Several drivers were able to cover more than 100 laps – starting with Kimi Räikkönen, who was the most diligent on the track with 121 laps completed. He was followed by Alonso and Hamilton with 115 laps each, Petrov and Hülkenberg with 101 laps each, and Ricciardo and Maldonado who each covered 100 laps.
On the problem side, Sauber experienced an issue with the engine of Kamui Kobayashi’s C31. The double world champion team, Red Bull Racing, also had issues with the RB8 – starting with a problem with the front wing followed by a gearbox issue. Vettel finished the day with only 23 laps on the counter – 15 this morning and 8 this afternoon.
Barcelona Private Tests 2 – Day 4 Standings
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Räikkönen | Lotus F1 Team | 1.22.030 | 121 | |
2 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1.22.250 | +0.220 | 115 |
3 | Senna | Williams | 1.22.296 | +0.266 | 53 |
4 | Hülkenberg | Force India | 1.22.312 | +0.282 | 101 |
5 | Kobayashi | Sauber | 1.22.386 | +0.356 | 72 |
6 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1.22.430 | +0.400 | 115 |
7 | Petrov | Caterham F1 | 1.22.795 | +0.765 | 101 |
8 | Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1.22.939 | +0.909 | 100 |
9 | Maldonado | Williams | 1.23.347 | +1.317 | 48 |
10 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1.23.393 | +1.363 | 100 |
11 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1.23.608 | +1.578 | 23 |
Thanks to these pre-season tests, almost all teams were able to test their 2012 cars – except for HRT and Marussia. However, each was on its own program and it is difficult to get a really precise idea of the competitiveness of each team – even if the Lotus seems strong, Räikkönen posted consistent and rather impressive lap times during his simulation this afternoon.
You will soon find a summary of the last four days of pre-season testing held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
