Massa and Ferrari continue domination for the second day in a row

Posted by Harry on February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments

Ferrari’s Massa continued to top the time sheets for the second day in a row at the Valencia circuit. Ferrari seem to have got their challenger spot on this year with the F10. The F10 was over 0.3 seconds faster than Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber. BMW Sauber, the team that hung in the balance remain competitive during the test. This is good news for the team that struggled in the 2009 season.

Massa continued with the development work he began on Monday, concentrating mainly on set-up evaluations and analysing tyre behaviour. “It was definitely a good day,” said the 23 year-old. “We had no problems with the car and covered a lot of mileage. The car felt good. I enjoyed driving a lot and also working with the team. It was a difficult winter for everyone but they seem to have done a good job; I want to thank them for that. Now it is important to keep working hard for the remaining test opportunities.”

Lewis Hamilton, driving first time for the MP4 25 posted the third best time of the day. Fellow Briton Jenson Button will take over on Wednesday. Hamilton tested with heavier fuel loads and narrower front tyres. Pole Kubica set the fourth fastest time for Renault in the R30. Some overnight changes helped reverse the understeer phenomenon that prevailed on Monday. “It’s quite different to what I have been used to, so it was important to get a good feel for how the car behaves,” he said. “We did one very long run, which went pretty well, and there have been no problems, which is a good sign for our reliability.”

Rest of the times are given below. For a detailed analysis, visit www.f1.com

Testing concludes at Valencia on Wednesday.

Unofficial Tuesday test times from Valencia:
1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:11.722, 124 Laps
2. Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber, 1:12.056, 96 Laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:12.256, 108 Laps
4. Robert Kubica, Renault, 1:12.426, 119 Laps
5. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:12.899, 119 Laps
6. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:13.377, 102 Laps
7. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:13.823, 107 Laps