Testing – Day 4 – Webber Takes the Lead in the Rain

For this fourth and final day of private testing in Barcelona, Spain, it was Mark Webber who set the fastest time. In dreadful weather, the Red Bull driver took advantage of his grooved tires to gain an edge late in the morning, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Räikkönen.

The weather was pleasant yesterday, but a depression arrived in the morning. At 9 AM, as the session had just begun, the first drops were already falling on the Iberian South circuit. It wasn’t until shortly before the lunch break that it stopped.

Mark Webber then set the fastest time on a warm track that had dried quickly. He was equipped with intermediate tires.

Webber fast in rain-hit Barcelona

The drivers generally gained little from this fourth day in Barcelona. Kovalainen takes second position behind the wheel of the McLaren, more than a second and a half behind the Australian. He also set his best time between noon and two, ahead of Räikkönen’s Ferrari.

Kubica achieved the 4th fastest time, just ahead of Jenson Button. The five drivers completed fewer than 200 laps…

Three seconds behind the day’s leader, Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams is in 6th place. He was ahead of Nelson Piquet’s Renault, which could not fully benefit from the changes made to the R28 due to the weather conditions. Nonetheless, he completed 61 laps. His two last drivers were the most enduring.

Jarno Trulli, who stopped early in the afternoon due to the weather, set the 8th and final time. He comments: « We knew rain was expected today, so we knew we wouldn’t make significant progress. Every time we went on track, the settings had to be different to adapt to the very changing conditions. So we stopped earlier, but I am quite confident for the Grand Prix in a few days. We have indeed made very good progress this week. »

Regarding the race interruption, there was only one, following Nakajima’s engine failure in the early afternoon.

Finally, the Force India and Toro Rosso drivers were missing today. Sebastian Vettel couldn’t race, as the car simply hadn’t been repaired after Bourdais’ accident yesterday, while Force India didn’t want to waste money in these conditions.

Results of Private Tests in Barcelona – Day 4