F1: Sauber Of Kobayashi Quickest Of The Week

Formula 1

F1: Sauber Of Kobayashi Quickest Of The Week

Kamui Kobayashi surged to the top of the time sheet as testing concluded Friday in Barcelona...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted February 24, 2012 Barcelona (ESP)

Kamui Kobayashi finished the first week of Barcelona testing on a high note. (Photo: Getty Images)

Testing concluded in Barcelona on Friday afternoon with the unlikely outcome of Kamui Kobayashi topping the times not just for the day, but the whole week.

Sauber was concentrating on qualifying runs when Kobayashi set his time, which was achieved on his second set of soft tires.

With Williams second and Force India third fastest – and the big guns keeping their powder dry – it was further proof that outright times prove little at this stage.

It was a generally reliable day for most runners, with six of the nine drivers in action logging more than 100 laps, and Kobayashi doing as many as 145.

“We achieved a very good mileage today,” said Kobayashi. “The setup changes we did in the morning meant an improvement in lap times, which, of course, is very positive. There is still a lot of work to do in terms of understanding the car and the different tire compounds at different fuel levels, but we are working in the right direction. I think it was a good test for us.”

Pastor Maldonado was again near the top of the times as he took second place for Williams, the Venezuelan also doing some qualifying work as the car ran very reliably and logged 134 laps.

“It has been a positive test for the team,” said Maldonado. “We’ve had no problems with the car, getting in some good mileage across all four days. We now have a great deal of data to analyze, so we will keep pushing to improve our car for the next test. I am looking forward to coming back next week for the final test, and getting back to racing very soon.”

Paul Di Resta was third for Force India, despite losing some track time with a trip into a gravel trap.

“It was another successful day and a good way to end the week,” said the Scot. “I had a small trip through the gravel in the morning, but nothing that caused too much of an issue, although we lost half an hour of running. The important thing is that we still managed to do our long runs in the afternoon and I could feel the changes we made compared to yesterday. It’s given me a good impression of the car’s balance and consistency, and we’ve seen that our long run pace is improving step by step.”

Jenson Button was fourth for McLaren, the Brit setting his best time on the harder Pirelli.

“Today was spent completing some of the fundamental tests that we don’t normally get the opportunity to do at race weekends,” said McLaren team manager Dave Redding. “We also used the time to continue tire testing and complete a number of reliability prove-outs. It was a good day, we did 115 laps and felt the car went well. This week we’ve completed more than 2,100 kilometers of running, which is impressive. It’s been a pleasing end to a very constructive week.”

Button lined up ahead of Felipe Massa, who tried all four tire compounds Friday, and Mark Webber, as again Red Bull kept a low profile and concentrated on data gathering.

“Today we got through a lot of stuff!,” said Webber. “We tested a lot of elements and everything worked well, especially since we had such a big program. That can mean not a lot of laps and a lot of garage time, but we gathered a lot of good information today and that’s a pleasing way to finish the week.

“We have a lot of work to do back in Milton Keynes over the next few days to get the car ready for the next test. We’ve done well over these two first tests and the feeling is pretty good.”

Seventh fastest on the day, Jean-Eric Vergne reported that he was coming to terms with the Toro Rosso.

“I am much more confident in the car now than I was by the end of the Jerez test,” said the Frenchman. “We worked on many different aspects of the job and, for example, today I had a much better understanding of the pit stops than I did after trying them yesterday for the first time. We did some good work today, acquiring plenty of data and I expect this will help us to improve still further next week.”

Nico Rosberg was near the bottom of the order in the Mercedes in eighth, but the team appeared to be quietly confident and has yet to show its true pace.

“Our test program went well this week and we have made evident progress each day,” said Rosberg. “In terms of reliability, the car is performing pretty much as we expected which is really important as we can concentrate on improving the performance.

“Of course it's difficult at this stage to predict how we will fare in race conditions against our competitors, but overall I'm pleased with the start that we have made."

An electrical problem forced Caterham into a precautionary engine change, and despite being off the pace in ninth, Heikki Kovalainen was optimistic.

“This is the sort of test you look back on and think we’re pleased to have got behind us,” said Kovalainen. “But we have still learnt a lot here and have ironed out quite a few issues that could have been more serious later in the season. Things haven’t exactly gone as we would have liked, but I think we all know where the car can and should be when it gets real in Australia, so now the challenge is to regroup in time for next week and make sure we come back here ready to put in a final week of hard work on track and get back to where we want to be.”

Marussia didn’t do a lap with the 2011 Virgin Friday due to a suspension issue, the team deciding that it was not worth running.

Testing resumes in Barcelona next week, with most teams in action from March 1-4, and Ferrari and Red Bull opting for March 2-5. The new Marussia and possibly the new HRT will make their debuts.

Unofficial Friday test times from Barcelona:
1. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:22.312, 145 Laps
2. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:22.561, 134 Laps
3. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:23.119, 101 Laps
4. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:23.200, 115 Laps
5. Felipe Masssa, Ferrari, 1:23.563, 103 Laps
6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.774, 85 Laps
7. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:23.792, 92 Laps
8. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:23.843, 139 Laps
9. Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham, 1:26.968, 70 Laps

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.