F1: Buemi Leads Third and Final Day at Jerez

Formula 1

F1: Buemi Leads Third and Final Day at Jerez

Toro Rosso again on front with Sato in second.

RACER & autosport.com | http://www.racer.com/speedtv | Posted December 11, 2008 Jerez, Spain

Buemi showed why he's the frontrunner at Toro Rosso by pacing all three days at Jerez. (LAT Photo)

For the third straight day, Sebastien Buemi dominated the timesheets as this week's Formula 1 testing sessions at the Jerez circuit in Spain came to a close.

Once again, Buemi was followed the closest by Toro Rosso teammate Takuma Sato, who, like Sebastien Bourdais, tested on two days out of this week’s three. Yesterday, on the only head-to-head between the Japanese and the Frenchman, Sato had the upper hand.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen continued his testing work for McLaren, taking over the MP4-23A to focus on aerodynamic and set-up evaluation work for McLaren, to set the third quickest time. Teammate Pedro de la Rosa was in the KERS car today, but only completed 47 laps.

Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest Ferrari driver as he set the fourth best time, just ahead of returning teammate Felipe Massa. Renault's Fernando Alonso was sixth quickest as he continued acclimatizing to the 2009 slick Bridgestone tires.
"It was a good day as we continued to add miles to the car and to understand the tires," said Alonso. "We maximized the time on the track and managed to do a lot of laps as well as some basic-setup work.

"I have already been doing a lot of physical work to get ready for next year and so spending a couple of days in the car this week was another important part of my preparation and has helped me get back up to speed. I'm now looking forward to testing the new car in January."

Seventh fastest Nico Rosberg was Williams' sole representative, while BMW Sauber duo Robert Kubica and Christian Klien ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets as they focused on 2009 aerodynamic and KERS work.

Jerez F1 testing times – Thursday:

1) Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari , 1:17.258, 139 laps
2) Sato, Toro Rosso-Ferrari , 1:17.520, 119
3) Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes , 1:18.049, 96
4) Raikkonen, Ferrari , 1:18.782, 82
5) Massa, Ferrari , 1:19.050, 72
6) Alonso, Renault , 1:19.319, 124
7) Rosberg, Williams-Toyota , 1:19.388, 130
8) de la Rosa, McLaren-Mercedes , 1:19.499, 47
9) Kubica, BMW-Sauber , 1:19.559, 134
10) Klien, BMW-Sauber , 1:19.738, 101