Kovalainen put McLaren's new "horn" wings to good use at Jerez. (LAT Photo)
McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen was the fastest man in the final day of Formula 1 testing activities at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain, which served as preparation for next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Finn continued to evaluate the MP4-23 with the new “nose horn” wings and posted a best lap of 1:18.385. Kovalainen’s McLaren wasn’t the only car to sport new aero additions, as Felipe Massa’s Ferrari appeared for the first time with the “sharkfin” engine cover that’s become ubiquitous on the F1 grid this season. The Brazilian ended up as fifth fastest, behind Sebastien Bourdais’ Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s David Coulthard and Renault tester and GP2 regular Romain Grosjean.
“The day went quite well,” revealed Bourdais, who kept Toro Rosso’s run of strong performances this week. “Running the ’09 tires was very interesting, even if a combination of a very abrasive track surface and a 50 degree track temperature, meant they did not last very long. We have also come up with some useful data for Hungary and to be honest that’s the most important thing about this test, as 2009 is still a long way away.”
Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima was sixth, ahead of Nick Heidfeld’s BMW. Force India’s Adrian Sutil, Honda’s Jenson Button and Toyota tester Kamui Kobayashi completed the day’s runners.
