Vettel fastest in Barcaposted in F118 | 02 | 2011
SCOTLAND'S PAUL DI RESTA ended the opening day of the latest formula One test at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona sixth-fastest. But the Bathgate driver's Force India racer was only relegated from fifth in the final minutes of the day when reigning world champ Sebastian Vettel set a searing flying lap in his Red Bull.
The German nudged Fernando Alonso's Ferrari off the top of the timesheets when he clocked the day's best of 1m24.374s, 1.111s faster than the Spaniard.
The day had got off to a frustrating start when overnight rain made the track slippery, but as the temperatures rose and the track dried, so the times dropped.
Alonso set his fastest time, 1:25.485s in the morning before switching to a programme of longer runs in the afternoon. Vettel and Red Bull, meanwhile, completed relatively little running until the closing stages of the day, when he started a pair of short runs and set his quickest with just nine minutes of the session remaining.
Third and fourth spots were taken by Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, with the McLaren of Jenson Button fifth, just 0.210s ahead of Di Resta.
The Scot was left kicking his heels for much of the day which his crew worked on his car, but Di Resta finally emerged from the garage at 2.12pm local time and after an installation lap he was able to complete a further 25 circuits in the remaining 1hr 45mins.
Di Resta and the teams return to the track tomorrow for the second of four days of testing.
Full report on Paul and Force India to follow.
Formula One Test, Barcelona: Day 1 of 4 — Times:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault — 1m24.374s (37 laps)
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari — 1m25.485s +1.111s (101)
3. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari — 1m25.638s +1.264s (57)
4. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari — 1m25.641s +1.267s (78)
5. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes — 1m26.365s +1.991s (77)
6. Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes — 1m26.575s +2.201s (26)
7. Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth — 1m26.912s +2.538s (52)
8. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes — 1m27.512s + 3.138s (90)
9. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT-Cosworth — 1m28.393s +4.019s (116)
10. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus-Renault — 1m30.065s + 5.691s (54)
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Virgin-Cosworth — 1m30.950s + 6.576s (116)
12. Vitaly Petrov, Renault — 1m35.174s + 10.800s (20)
13. Nick Heidfeld, Renault — 1m44.324s + 19.950s (27)
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Jim McGill