Valencia Day 2: Massa continues his march forward

Felipe Massa managed to keep Scuderia Ferrari at the top as the Brazilian was once again the fastest during the second day of testing in Valencia, Spain. After finishing Monday at the top with long runs, he set his best time in the morning. Subsequently, no one else was able to beat him.

Indeed, his time of 1:11.722 was achieved during the first hour of racing, when BMW-Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi was also completing his best lap of the day in 1:12.056. The Japanese driver maintains his second place of the day: “It was certainly a good day,” said Kobayashi. “We didn’t have any problems with the car and covered a lot of kilometers. The car is good. I really enjoyed driving with the team.”

« It was a difficult winter for everyone but they seem to have done a good job, I would like to thank them for that. Now, it is important to keep working hard for the remaining trial opportunities. »

After these two best times, Lewis Hamilton with his McLaren is third and made improvements to the MP4-25 throughout the day. Hamilton had speed quickly and, although he focused on long runs, he managed to set a nice time of 1.12.256 early in the afternoon.

Robert Kubica and Renault were very productive with a total of 119 laps completed. The Polish driver’s fastest time was 1.12.426, achieved in the last 30 minutes. A slight downside, he stopped on the pit straight with only five minutes left in the session due to running out of fuel. Surprisingly, this was only the second red flag of these tests.

Behind Kubica, Nico Rosberg had the W01 of Mercedes GP all to himself today. His time is 1:12.899, just ahead of Rubens Barrichello with his Williams at 1:13.377 for his best lap. The Mercedes GP driver, who will hand over the car to his teammate Michael Schumacher on Wednesday, was satisfied with his day’s work.

« I am very happy with our first full day of testing and we really got into the program and did a good job, » said the German. « We successfully completed the equivalent of a race on this second day. I am quite pleased with how the car behaved on long runs with a lot of fuel. »

« It was as if it was the same car, just a bit slower. The balance was good. We still have work to do on my position in the car because I’m missing 1.5 cm in height. This explains the lack of visibility, but it’s something we can correct before the next test. Overall, it’s a positive start for our pre-season tests. I enjoy working with the team and feel very comfortable here. »

Sébastien Buemi for Toro Rosso finished the day at the bottom of the time sheets, but his day was much more productive for him after Monday’s gearbox problems. The small Scuderia was very determined to launch its new car as soon as the first tests. The team staff was able to realize the difficulties in designing and manufacturing a new single-seater. Buemi completed a total of 107 laps and set his best time towards the end with a 1:13.823.

The last day of the event is likely to draw attention as three world champions will be on track: Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, and Michael Schumacher.

Results Private Testing Valencia – Day 2 – Tuesday, February 2, 2009: