Vettel fastest again on final day in Spain

On a bright and sunny day at the Catalunya track, Vettel set a best time of 1:19.295 for Red Bull Racing, putting him 0.6 seconds clear of Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais.

The Frenchman beat Sebastien Buemi, one of his two rivals for an STR seat next year, by 0.3 seconds as the Swiss GP2 front-runner completed the top three.

McLaren test driver Gary Paffett was fourth in his KERS-equipped car, ahead of Honda's Jenson Button and BMW Sauber duo Christian Klien and Nick Heidfeld.

Klien was also using a KERS device, while Heidfeld's priority was evaluating the 2009-style aerodynamics and slick tyres. A minor accident caused by a drivetrain problem briefly delayed Klien during the morning.

Bruno Senna made his case for a 2009 Honda race drive by taking eighth place on his first full day in a Formula One car. The Brazilian was only 0.3 seconds slower than teammate Button, and 0.6 seconds quicker than his rival Lucas di Grassi had managed yesterday.

Renault's Nelson Piquet and Williams test driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten, with Luca Badoer 11th as Ferrari focused mainly on engine and gearbox reliability, and Giancarlo Fisichella and Pedro de la Rosa bringing up the rear for Force India.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver      Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:19.295  75
 2.  Bourdais    Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:19.839  122
 3.  Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.154  115
 4.  Paffett     McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:21.140  81
 5.  Button      Honda                (B)  1:21.387  94
 6.  Klien       BMW Sauber           (B)  1:21.534  88
 7.  Heidfeld    BMW Sauber           (B)  1:21.592  106
 8.  Senna       Honda                (B)  1:21.676  107
 9.  Piquet      Renault              (B)  1:22.148  94
10.  Hulkenberg  Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:22.410  52
11.  Badoer      Ferrari              (B)  1:22.866  120
12.  Fisichella  Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:23.086  93
13.  de la Rosa  Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:23.103  88

All timing unofficial