Massa fastest again on final day
Felipe Massa maintained Ferrari's domination on the final day of major pre-season testing at Bahrain on Thursday to comfortably head the timesheets
The Brazilian was evaluating an updated aerodynamic package on his F2007 and, although his best time was done on new tyres, it is understood it was not with a low qualifying-simulation level of fuel on board.
With the Ferrari's long run pace looking good as well, Massa was clearly full of confidence about how strong his team had ended testing.
"You don't just need a consistent car, you need a quick car," he said. "And here, we are quick and consistent."
Massa's closest challenger was Renault's Heikki Kovalainen, who ended the week with something to smile about following his spectacular crash on Tuesday. He did bring out a red flag, however, when he stopped on the track just after lunch.
The Finn was four tenths adrift of Massa, though, with teammate Giancarlo Fisichella a further one tenth of a second behind him.
With Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who used the new F2007 aero package in the afternoon, fourth fastest, McLaren's Fernando Alonso was fifth quickest overall.
Honda Racing's Rubens Barrichello was sixth quickest, ahead of McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.
Scott Speed delivered a fairly impressive performance for Scuderia Toro Rosso to set the eighth quickest time, just ahead of the sister Red Bull Racing of David Coulthard.
The final day of testing brought more frustration for BMW-Sauber, who are still beset by reliability issues despite having a quick car. Nick Heidfeld, who ended the day 10th overall, stopped on track at 4pm, with teammate Robert Kubica coming to a halt 15 minutes before the end of the day.
Super Aguri also hit trouble, having to pack up early after Takuma Sato damaged the monocoque by going over a kerb.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Car Time Laps 1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:29.989 45 2. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:30.384 61 3. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:30.498 64 4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:30.534 77 5. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:30.564 113 6. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:31.067 118 7. De la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:31.354 90 8. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:31.500 124 9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:31.589 66 10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:31.720 83 11. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:31.742 92 12. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:31.751 98 13. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:31.791 81 14. Button Honda (B) 1:31.837 97 15. Montagny Toyota (B) 1:32.264 119 16. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:33.357 53
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