Vettel tops testing again

Eurosport - Thu, 20 Nov 14:44:00 2008

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel again finished top in Formula One testing in the final day at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.

FORMULA 1 2008 - Informal test of Red Bull's new RB4 race car at the Catalonia racetrack in Montmelo - 0

Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Buemi completed the top three in what was an excellent day for the Red Bull brand and drivers called 'Seb'.

Vettel picked up from where he had left off on day two, shaving almost half a second off his best time aboard the RB4 to lead the way and send out a warning signal that in 2009 he fully intends to add to his Italian Grand Prix success achieved with STR.

"It was good to be back in a race car again, for the first time since Brazil," the 21-year-old stated. "Running the 2009 slick tyres was very interesting, and very different to what Formula One has been used to for the past few years.

"It was also a useful couple of days for me from the point-of-view of getting to know the engineers and the rest of the team. It is important to develop a common understanding between us - and winter testing is the ideal opportunity to do just that."

Fourth on the final timing screens was McLaren-Mercedes test driver Gary Paffett.

Fifth-fastest was Honda's Jenson Button, the Englishman less than three tenths of a second ahead of the impressive Bruno Senna in the second RA108, with the pair - possible team-mates in F1 next year - sandwiching the evenly-matched BMW-Sauber duo of tester Klien and regular race driver Nick Heidfeld. Senna lapped almost three seconds quicker than he had done on the opening day, and seven tenths up on the best effort set by fellow GP2 graduate Lucas di Grassi - his principal rival for a seat at the Brackley-based outfit in 2009 - on day two.

"It's nice to be back in a car that I enjoy driving," enthused Button, who continued his set-up programme, running on slick rubber and working through a series of aerodynamic and suspension evaluations on the modified RA108.

"Taking a lot of the down-force off and running on slick tyres suits my driving style a lot more than grooved tyres.

"I've had a fun couple of days and it's been very useful, as we have tested many things which should help us with the new car. It's been a positive start to 2009 already, and I'm very pleased. I've just got to keep pushing the team hard now to get the improvements that we are hoping to achieve for next year."

Testing results, final day, Circuit de Catalunya:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:19.295 (75)

2. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 1:19.839 (122)

3. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:20.154 (115)

4. Gary Paffett (McLaren) 1:21.140 (81)

5. Jenson Button (Honda) 1:21.387 (94)

6. Christian Klien (BMW) 1:21.534 (88)

7. Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:21.592 (106)

8. Bruno Senna (Honda) 1:21.676 (107)

9. Nelsinho Piquet (Renault) 1:22.148 (94)

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:22.410 (52)

11. Luca Badoer (Ferrari) 1:22.866 (120)

12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:23.086 (93)

13. Pedro de la Rosa (Force India) 1:23.103 (88)

Crash.Net / Eurosport

Comment 104 - 123 of 123

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  1. Arshad: you are so dumb that you can't even see when I'm taking the piss out of you. Of course you are a Ferrari fan! Only Ferrari fans show the levels of stupidity that you do. If you had even a 1/4 of a brain, you'd be dangerous! Hahahaha

    From crispyduck, on Sat 22 Nov 9:16AM

  2. clispydick: If you had any brains you would have understood by now that I am a Ferrari fan

    From arshad_iceman2, on Sat 22 Nov 6:51AM

  3. Chris
    My post was a sarcastic comment aimed at clispyduck. That post does not reflect my view of F1. I am a Ferrari fan and think Alonso is the most complete current driver

    From arshad_iceman2, on Sat 22 Nov 6:50AM

  4. r.e.
    arshad_iceman2
    George W Bush, the FIA, the Mafia and the CIA helped Massa but still Hamilton won it. Ferrari are just some thieves from Maranello and Alonso is a sad crybaby

    Well. I don't agree with the bit about the CIA and George Bush. The rest may be more accurate that we suspected. - Except the Alonso bit. A back-stabbing weasel may be more accurate as blackmail is, I believe, a crime.

    From Count Louis Zborowski, on Fri 21 Nov 11:30PM

  5. arshad: shouldn't you be supporting Force India? Hahahaha

    From crispyduck, on Fri 21 Nov 10:34PM

  6. hello my little f1 bum chums it marnio here from peru.
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say? you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is the german engine. everything about the team is the german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact there nothing british about this team at all. even the man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in the time warp. not even the people abducted by the alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap. IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Fri 21 Nov 9:34PM

  7. hello my little f1 bum chums it marnio here from peru.
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say? you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is the german engine. everything about the team is the german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact there nothing british about this team at all. even the man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in the time warp. not even the people abducted by the alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap. IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Fri 21 Nov 9:34PM

  8. To me it seems old clispydick has lost the plot and now thinks him/herself to be a four year old. I need to call your mom to tuck you in with teddy

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 8:10PM

  9. ooooooooohh! get her! Little Arshad, all upset. Away and cry yourself to sleep little man!

    From crispyduck, on Fri 21 Nov 8:03PM

  10. clispy, when did I say Hamilton was not a good driver? If he is world champion then definitely he was the better driver over this year, regardless of his car. And now you resort to name calling, branding Ferrari fans as twats. Good evening to you clispydick and your fellow McLaren @#$%

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:56PM

  11. Arshad: it isn't our fault that your basically created the evidence on why Hamilton was the better driver all by yourself. That must have really hurt you being so stupid! Admitting that the Ferrari was the better car simply proved that Hamilton must have better skills or perhaps more guts to drive his inferior car. There is no other explanation is there?
    Face it, you don't answer questions and skip over the truth because you know deep down that the FIA did all they can to help Massa and he still failed! I really feel you pain about Hamilton beating your drivers. I'm loving it too as after all the nasty, hatred and bile that you and you fellow tvvat Ferrari fans sprouted in here you deserve every bit of it. At 23, Hamilton is going to be dishing it out more and more. Great!

    From crispyduck, on Fri 21 Nov 7:48PM

  12. Sorry for the split posts, encountered 'Invalid' terrain

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:30PM

  13. There clispyduck. Hope you sleep well.

    Disclaimer(for those who read the posts properly): My last two posts in no way resemble my actual thoughts and reflections about the mentioned persons and organizations and was intented only as a lullaby for clispyduck

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:24PM

  14. George W Bush, the FIA, the Mafia and the CIA helped Massa but still Hamilton won it. Ferrari are just some thieves from Maranello and Alonso is a sad crybaby

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:23PM

  15. Lewis Hamilton is the best driver, he is the greatest of all time. The others are rubbish bcoz he beat them

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:21PM

  16. clispyduck
    After much thought I have decided that you cannot bear anyone not supporting Hamilton and believe they are not entitled to their own opinions unless they match with yours. So that you can change your diapers in peace, tuck your teddy bear in a blanket and go to bed with a big happy smile, I have decided to post a comment for you. Here goes:

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:19PM

  17. clispyduck
    You see someone here saying he is a Ferrari fan you say he is biased and view any post from him as anti Lewis Hamilton

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:11PM

  18. clispyduck
    I said I don't want another scandal over a McLaren driver in a Ferrari tech car and you twist it and conjure up Ferrari/FIA conspiracy theories from the moon

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:09PM

  19. clispyduck
    There is no debating with Ferrari fans you say? I see you can twist words a lot as well. You started by saying Vettel is just overhyped and when I replied you turned the conversation to Hamilton just bcoz I praised Vettel's move on Hamilton

    From arshad_iceman2, on Fri 21 Nov 7:05PM

  20. Sorry for the split post dammed invalids, this time the word was,Right.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From OnlyHereForTheBeer, on Fri 21 Nov 5:16PM
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