Barrichello sets blistering testing pace

Barrichello, whose team-mate Jenson Button had topped the times yesterday, went even quicker today, finishing with the best time of the week in the BGP-001 machine, which made its public debut only on Monday.

The Brazilian was the only driver who managed to lap the track in less than one minute and 19 seconds, as he finished over eight tenths ahead of Nico Rosberg in the Williams.

The Brawn GP driver also had a busy day, covering over 100 laps.

"I'm very pleased with the mileage that we have achieved today and the completion of another full race distance," said Barrichello. "The qualifying exercises were also very useful in enabling the team and I to get fully up to speed and ready for Melbourne.

"The car has proved fast and reliable throughout the week so we go to Jerez feeling positive and pleased with the results of our first test outing."

The unusual order at the top of the times was completed by Toyota's Timo Glock as third quickest and Sebastian Vettel fourth in the Red Bull machine. Fernando Alonso was fifth fastest in the Renault.

Glock was pleased with his day's work after managed well over 100 laps as Toyota continued to look in good form for Melbourne.

"This was another useful day to round off our good winter of testing," Glock said. "We did more work on set-up and long runs and everything went well until the very last lap! Still, overall the car feels strong and we seem to have good pace so we can look forward to Australia.

"Of course we'll only see the real results on Saturday in Melbourne but everyone at Toyota can be happy with our work so far. We've made fine progress so roll on the first race."

Championship favourites Ferrari, BMW-Sauber and McLaren had to settle with the sixth, seventh, and eighth quickest times of the day thanks to Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton respectively.

World champion Hamilton had another low-key session and finished nearly two seconds off the pace after 69 laps.

With 141 laps covered, Giancarlo Fisichella was the busiest driver in the Force India car.

"It's been a good day with 141 laps," said Fisichella. "We went in the right direction with some set-up work and the car was very reliable so we could really start to work on the balance.

"It's not so bad we just could do with some more aero grip. We didn't do the best lap time when the circuit was at its peak in the morning otherwise we could have improved the time, perhaps a 20.5, but overall I feel comfortable. It's quite encouraging, we now know where we need to improve."

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time     Laps
 1.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes       (B)  1:18.926  110
 2.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:19.774  120
 3.  Glock         Toyota               (B)  1:20.091  128
 4.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:20.576   83
 5.  Alonso        Renault              (B)  1:20.664   64
 6.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  1:20.677   92
 7.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:20.740  134
 8.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:20.869   70
 9.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.013   62
10.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:21.045  141
11.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.629   27

All Timing Unofficial