Buemi ends Jerez testing on top

Both drivers set their fastest times late morning, when the track conditions are traditionally at their best, as they aim to impresses their bosses enough to secure race drives for 2009.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen continued his testing work for McLaren, taking over the MP4-23A to focus on aerodynamic and set-up evaluation work for McLaren, to set the third quickest time.

Teammate Pedro de la Rosa was in the KERS car today, but only completed 47 laps.

Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest Ferrari driver as he set the fourth best time, just ahead of returning teammate Felipe Massa.

Renault's Fernando Alonso was sixth quickest as he continued acclimatising to the 2009 slick Bridgestone tyres.

"It was a good day as we continued to add miles to the car and to understand the tyres," said Alonso. "We maximised the time on the track and managed to do a lot of laps as well as some basic-set-up work.

"I have already been doing a lot of physical work to get ready for next year and so spending a couple of days in the car this week was another important part of my preparation and has helped me get back up to speed. I'm now looking forward to testing the new car in January."

Seventh fastest Nico Rosberg was Williams' sole representative, while BMW Sauber duo Robert Kubica and Christian Klien ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets as they focused on 2009 aerodynamic and KERS work.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time     Laps
 1.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:17.258  139
 2.  Sato          Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:17.520  119
 3.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:18.049   96
 4.  Raikkonen     Ferrari              (B)  1:18.782   82
 5.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  1:19.050   72
 6.  Alonso        Renault              (B)  1:19.319  124
 7.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:19.388  130
 8.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:19.499   47
 9.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:19.559  134
10.  Klien         BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:19.738  101

All Timing Unofficial