Felipe Massa helped Ferrari maintain its position as the team to beat on the second day of preseason Formula 1 testing at Valencia in Spain on Tuesday.
The Brazilian, who had been quickest on the opening day of action on Monday, spent most of the day focusing on long runs, but had put in a quick time early in the morning running that no one else was able to beat. His best effort of 1m11.722sec was set in the first hour of running, when BMW Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi also put in his personal best of 1m12.056sec to set the second-best time.
With the times of the top two staying static, it was left to Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren to chip away and make improvements over the course of the day during his first outing in the new MP4-25. Hamilton was quickly up to speed and, although he too focused on some long runs, he managed to put in a best time of 1m12.256sec in the early afternoon to end the day third overall on the time sheets.
Renault's Robert Kubica was another driver who spent the day working on long run efforts, completing a total of 119 laps over the course of the day before some lower fuel laps right near the end. The Pole delivered his best effort of 1m12.426sec in the final 30 minutes – but he brought the day to an early finish when he stopped on the start-finish straight with just five minutes of the session remaining. Remarkably, it was only the second red flag of testing so far.
Behind Kubica, Nico Rosberg had the whole day to himself in the Mercedes GP W01, setting a best lap of 1m12.899sec, just ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the Williams, whose best effort was 1m13.377sec. Sebastien Buemi may have ended the day at the bottom of the time sheets, but it was a more productive outing for him after the gearbox problems he suffered on Monday.
Scuderia Toro Rosso was determined that its new car would be ready for the first test, so team personnel could get a grip on the first car it has designed and manufactured for several years. Buemi completed a total of 107 laps, and set his best near the end with a 1m13.823sec.
The final day of the test is likely to draw big interest, with three World Champions taking to the track – Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.
Tuesday's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:11.722 124
2. Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari (B) 1:12.056 96
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.256 108
4. Kubica Renault (B) 1:12.426 119
5. Rosberg Mercedes GP (B) 1:12.899 119
6. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:13.377 102
7. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:13.823 107
All Timing Unofficial