Barcelona Day 3 – Massa Ends the Week on Top!

Felipe Massa set the fastest time on the third and final day of testing in Barcelona. Under clear but cool weather, the Ferrari driver led the Spanish circuit ahead of Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) – who held the fastest lap, canceled after cutting the final chicane – and Franck Montagny (Toyota) for the last run of his career with the Japanese team…

With less than a tenth of a second lead, Massa dominated the session all day. The Finnish Renault driver had finished the previous two days in the top 4 and concluded on a high note with the only Renault on track in second position.

Massa, for his part, was a victim of some problems with his Ferrari, causing three red flags, the last of which forced him to abandon his session prematurely.

Franck Montagny finished his testing with Toyota, thus ending his contract. Nonetheless, the French driver delivered a strong performance, just 7 tenths behind the Ferrari and significantly ahead of his teammate, Jarno Trulli, in 14th place.

Sebastian Vettel put in a good time in 4th position. The young German got ahead of Coulthard (Red Bull) and Badoer in the second Ferrari, with Michael Schumacher not driving on this final day.

The first McLaren is only 7th with Pedro de la Rosa. The Spaniard, at home, was nevertheless encouraged by more than 6,000 spectators. He is ahead of Nico Rosberg in the Williams, with Nakajima, the only one to complete more than 100 laps on track, with as many as 126 laps recorded, in 13th position.

Sébastien Bourdais, the second French driver present on the Circuit de Catalunya, finished 9th after experiencing a problem that forced him to pull over to the side of the track in the morning. He is ahead of Paffett’s McLaren, which completes the top 10.

Robert Doornbos, a competitor of Bourdais in ChampCar this season, was tested by Red Bull, finishing last, more than 3 seconds off the lead. He was outpaced by Rossiter and Conway, who were tested by Super Aguri, while Force India continued testing with Liuzzi and Klien.

The latter, who finished 15th, commented: « There are still many things to improve on this car and I am very optimistic. The team worked hard and I think that, overall, it was two very good days for me here. »

The next private test session will be on December 4th, again in Spain, but on the Jerez circuit.

Updated article at 21:07 following a statement from the FIA explaining that Kovalainen, who set the best time on the track, had cut a chicane on his last lap.

We announced that he was first at the end of this third day, and we are therefore sorry.

Barcelona Private Testing – Day 3 – Spain