Jerez Day 3 – The sun returns but Glock stays in front

The tests in Jerez continued today for the third consecutive day. The first kilometers were done on a wet track, but the eight teams present were quickly able to test dry tires as conditions improved.

Timo Glock was, once again, the fastest in his TF109 with a best time of 1:19.814. The German driver completed 142 laps of the 4.428 km long circuit. His time was achieved on his 132nd lap of the day.

« It was a pleasant day. This morning, we had somewhat difficult conditions which complicated the race simulation. Afterwards, we were able to fit the car with slick tires and our pace wasn’t bad, » explained Glock.

« Then, we ran dry for the rest of the day. A lot of setup work has been done. It had to be undertaken quickly to follow our schedule. We have covered a great number of kilometers over the past two days and we are making progress. »

After a break yesterday, Monday, due to bad weather, Felipe Massa was back in the racing seat of the F60. The Ferrari team had a visit today from their favorite advisor, Michael Schumacher. The German paid a visit to the staff to observe the progress made on the car.

As for the current Scuderia driver, he lost some time this morning waiting for the track to dry completely. The Brazilian then gained four tenths per lap to get closer to Glock’s pace at the end of the session. He finished in second place.

On this Tuesday, Fernando Alonso took over from Nelson Piquet for the Renault team. The 2005 and 2006 world champion was immediately up to speed, something his Brazilian teammate failed to do in the first two days of testing. Alonso finished 3rd with 152 laps completed and a time just slightly slower than Massa’s. The R29 featured a new front wing today.

Heikki Kovalainen continued his testing program with McLaren-Mercedes. This is not the first time this season, but the team used a dye to visualize and monitor the airflow on the new MP4-24, which this week features the 2009 version rear wings.

However, Kovalainen remained at the bottom of the timesheet in this configuration. Before the end of the day, he switched back to the 2008 version of the wings to record the fourth fastest time, seven-tenths behind the leader.

Adrian Sutil was able to experience the brand new VJM02, now powered by Mercedes, during official testing. He stepped in at the last minute to replace his teammate, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella. The German finished less than a tenth behind Kovalainen, once again an encouraging performance for the team based in Silverstone.

« I think today was a good day. It was important to get into the car and trust it. It seems operational and certainly has potential. In the afternoon, kilometer after kilometer, reliability was there. »

« In the morning, we had a small problem that we were able to resolve over lunch and start our afternoon program. The different tire compounds react differently. We need to find a good setup and make them work. That’s what we’re focusing on now, » stated Adrian Sutil.

Mark Webber also hit the track today, replacing his new teammate, Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver placed sixth in terms of time, while Robert Kubica completed his third and final day of racing for the BMW Sauber team. The Pole, however, lost some time when his F1.09 came to a halt on the track an hour before the end of the session.

« Overall, it was a good day. We were able to make up some of the time lost yesterday with the rain. I started today with ‘extreme wet’ tires, then ‘wet’ and finally slick tires to end the day, » he stated.

« These tests were conducted with different setups, I tried several solutions to be the most comfortable in the car. »

Nico Rosberg closes the gap at the wheel of his Williams, 1.6 seconds behind Timo Glock.

The trials will continue, of course, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 4th.

Results of private tests Spain – Jerez – Tuesday, March 3: