Ferrari again quickest at Barcelona
Ferrari continued to set the pace in Barcelona Formula 1 testing, finishing on top of the times for the third day running
While Felipe Massa had headed the times on the first two days, it was test driver Luca Badoer who went fastest on Thursday, showing Ferrari still seems to be ahead of its rivals in coping with the new Bridgestone tyres.
Massa was replaced by Ferrari's other test driver Marc Gene, who went sixth quickest.
Renault's Heikki Kovalainen raised his pace after two discreet days and finished second quickest in the R26 after completing 117 laps. The Finn was the busiest man and finished less than three tenths of a second behind Badoer.
BMW-Sauber again showed strong pace, with Robert Kubica posting the third fastest time.
He was joined by Timo Glock, who finally got his test with BMW after postponing it due to a hand injury earlier this year. The GP2 driver was ninth fastest.
Lewis Hamilton continued making progress towards the top of the times, the Briton finishing fourth quickest in the first of the McLarens.
Most attention was focused on the second Mercedes-powered car, driven by returning two-time champion Mika Hakkinen.
The Finn, having his first serious run in an F1 car since the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, managed 77 laps but finished at the bottom of the times, three seconds off Badoer's pace.
There were two red flags during the day, the first caused by Williams's Narain Karthikeyan and the final one by Glock near the end of the session.
Thursday's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:16.317 88 2. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:16.609 117 3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:16.729 65 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:17.077 86 5. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:17.190 115 6. Gene Ferrari (B) 1:17.340 82 7. Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:17.359 92 8. Piquet Renault (B) 1:17.428 95 9. Glock BMW-Sauber (B) 1:17.632 100 10. Klien Honda (B) 1:17.774 105 11. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:17.876 83 12. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:18.019 72 13. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:18.045 111 14. Karthikeyan Williams-Toyota (B) 1:18.087 78 15. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (B) 1:18.528 95 16. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (B) 1:18.741 71 17. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (B) 1:18.798 99 18. Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.340 77 Distance covered Km Laps Honda 1017.9 220
Renault 990.2 214
Toro Rosso 897.6 194
Ferrari 791.2 171
McLaren 768.1 166
BMW-Sauber 763.5 165
Toyota 758.8 164
Red Bull 712.6 154
Super Aguri 513.6 111
Williams 360.9 78
All Timing Unofficial
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