Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso moved to the top of the times on the second day of testing at the Valencia circuit on Wednesday.
The Spaniard, fifth fastest yesterday, posted a best time of 1m13.307sec around the 1 p.m. mark and stayed there until the end of the day in what was a positive day for the Italian squad, with Alonso covering over 100 laps. Teammate Felipe Massa will take over for the final day of the test tomorrow.
Yesterday's pacesetter Sebastian Vettel had to settle for second position after completing 43 laps with the Red Bull RB7. The German shared the car with teammate Mark Webber, who got first taste of the new Red Bull in the afternoon, managing 16 laps on his way to the 14th quickest time of the session.
Third quickest in the Force India was Paul di Resta, who continued enjoying a productive test at the wheel of last year's car. Lewis Hamilton, in the hybrid McLaren, and Renault's Robert Kubica completed the top five.
Indian Narain Karthikeyan was a surprising sixth fastest in the 2010 Hispania car, outpacing Nico Rosberg, who enjoyed a more productive day than yesterday in the new Mercedes.
Heikki Kovalainen took the new Lotus T128 out for its first run, but the Finn's day was cut short due to a problem with the car's power steering. The Finn managed just 15 laps and finished at the bottom of the times, but he was encouraged by the car's handling.
"Compared to the feeling of last year at Jerez, it is totally different," he said. "Last year after Jerez I knew we had a little bit of work to do in every area, but the whole concept feels right."
Lotus will fly the power steering back to the factory overnight in order to continue testing tomorrow.
There were a total of four red flags during the day, the first caused by Rubens Barrichello's stoppage an hour into the session. A spin by di Resta at 10:30 was then followed by Rosberg stopping with a problem around 2 p.m. The final red flag of the day was caused by Sebastien Buemi, whose Toro Rosso stopped on track near the end of the session.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Alonso Ferrari 1m13.307s 108
2. Vettel Red Bull Renault 1m13.614s +0.307 43
3. Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1m13.844s +0.537 111 *
4. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1m14.353s +1.046 83 *
5. Kubica Renault 1m14.412s +1.105 104
6. Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth 1m14.472s +1.165 80 *
7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.645s +1.338 69
8. Glock Virgin Cosworth 1m15.408s +2.101 34 *
9. Barrichello Williams Cosworth 1m16.023s +2.716 51
10. Perez Sauber Ferrari 1m16.198s +2.891 42
11. Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1m16.266s +2.959 29
12. Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m16.359s +3.052 46
13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m16.474s +3.167 64
14. Webber Red Bull Renault 1m17.365s +4.058 17
15. Kovalainen Lotus Renault 1m20.649s +7.342 15
* 2010 car
All Timing Unofficial