Renault edge rivals at Valencia

Renault's test driver Heikki Kovalainen posted a best time of 1:10.438 to finish on top of the times as the French squad completed their preparations ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Kovalainen had a busy day, working first on long runs and then on short, faster ones, completing a total of 123 laps.

The Finn finished less than a tenth of a second in front of Honda's test driver Anthony Davidson, who joined the test today. The Briton had a very productive session, completing 146 laps as he worked on tyre testing, doing long runs during the day.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen was third in the McLaren MP4-21, the Finn carrying out pitstop practice during the day. Test driver Pedro de la Rosa switched from the MP4-21 to the hybrid car and covered 109 laps on his way to the fourth fastest time.

Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber were in action for the Williams team, on both racing drivers' final day of work ahead of the start of the season. Both men carried out the final tyre test ahead of the Bahrain race and also worked on the seamless gearbox.

Webber admitted he was eager to start racing to see how competitive Williams can be this year.

"It is getting better but we still have work to do," Webber told autosport.com. "I know I want to do more testing but I want to start the races to see where we are exactly. This is the last day for me, it is coming so soon, yet I want to see where we are."

There were three red flags during today's session, caused by Raikkonen, Kovalainen and Rosberg, all due to mechanical problems.

Red Bull and Toyota will join the test tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Kovalainen    Renault              (M)  1:10.438  123
 2.  Davidson      Honda                (M)  1:10.532  146
 3.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:10.827   73
 4.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  1:10.834  109
 5.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:11.268   69
 6.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)  1:11.561   85

All Timing Unofficial