Barcelona Test Day 2 – Vettel Persists and Signs

Red Bull finally decides to reveal a tiny part of the RB7’s potential. Previously discreet in Valencia and Jerez, the Austrian car showcased its value thanks to a series of shorter runs. And this happened as early as the morning when Sebastian Vettel completed a series of two-lap runs and quickly secured the top position, consistently improving before clocking a Catalan lap in 1:23.315.

Then multiple pit stop simulations followed. The afternoon caused more waves in the Red Bull camp as a red flag led to a session interruption, followed by a problem with Vettel’s car, forcing him to remain in the pits for a long time.

On the side of the two Italian teams in the paddock, a great performance from Toro Rosso thanks to the second-fastest time by Jaime Alguersuari, confirming the good form of his car, and a more mixed day for Ferrari. Indeed, Fernando Alonso suffered from some reliability issues: an electrical failure in the morning, quickly resolved, followed by a mechanical problem that required more time at midday. Finally, the reds completed several series of long runs at the end of the session.

At Williams, Barrichello was one of the most diligent of the day with 118 laps on the counter. The Brazilian finished in fourth position.

Following KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) issues on Friday, Lotus Renault GP needed to make up for lost time. They did so by splitting the program between their two main drivers, Petrov and Heidfeld. The Russian completed 61 laps while the German finished 41. They ended the session in 11th and 5th positions, respectively.

Sauber focused on long runs with Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi, who finished 6th, just ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.

Once again, McLaren raises concerns: hydraulic problems prevented Jenson Button from running for a large part of the morning. The Englishman completed only 54 laps, securing 8th place.

The return of Liuzzi on HRT ended with the twelfth fastest time, after completing 70 laps, ahead of Glock.

Here is the ranking of the second day of testing: