Kevin Magnussen leads Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Catalunya

The 19-year-old stayed with his Formula 3 team Carlin, with which he finished second in the 2011 British championship, and rose to the top of the timesheets in the final minutes of the day.

"I took part in Formula Renault 3.5 Series collective testing with Pons Racing in 2009 and 2010, and it was good to do these tests with Carlin, my F3 team, here today," Magnussen, who piloted Robert Wickens' title-winning car, said.

"I know the way they work and I feel right at home. I'd love to carry on with them in 2012 and in this event."

His late effort demoted the morning's pacesetter Valtteri Bottas (Tech 1 Racing) into second, although the reigning GP3 champion's effort of 1m33.897s was good enough to keep him second.

Walter Grubmuller (P1 Motorsport) finished the day third fastest in a field which featured nine rookies and several interruptions during the first hours of running.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Comtec Racing) set his best time in the afternoon to end fourth fastest ahead of fellow Comtec man Lucas Foresti. Nick Yelloly (ISR) was second fastest in the morning and did not improve, ending the day in sixth overall.

Four more drivers will join the field in Wednesday's second day of testing, with one notable absentee - Nathanael Berthon (ISR) is unable to compete due to the damage his car suffered in the final race of the year at the circuit, when he was launched over Wickens in a first-corner crash.

Pos  Driver               Team             Time       Gap
 1.  Kevin Magnussen      Carlin           1m33.598s
 2.  Valtteri Bottas      Tech 1           1m33.897s  + 0.299s
 3.  Walter Grubmueller   P1               1m33.908s  + 0.310s
 4.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Comtec           1m34.071s  + 0.473s
 5.  Lucas Foresti        Comtec           1m34.107s  + 0.509s
 6.  Nick Yelloly         ISR              1m34.128s  + 0.530s
 7.  Kevin Korjus         Tech 1           1m34.147s  + 0.549s
 8.  Rio Haryanto         Epic             1m34.195s  + 0.597s
 9.  Daniel de Jong       Draco            1m34.260s  + 0.662s
10.  Marco Sorensen       Gravity-Charouz  1m34.310s  + 0.712s
11.  Nico Muller          Epic             1m34.498s  + 0.900s
12.  Daniel Abt           Pons             1m34.632s  + 1.034s
13.  Arthur Pic           P1               1m34.654s  + 1.056s
14.  Vittorio Ghirelli    BVM Target       1m34.752s  + 1.154s
15.  Jazeman Jaafar       Carlin           1m34.828s  + 1.230s
16.  Zoel Amberg          Pons             1m34.921s  + 1.323s
17.  Will Stevens         Fortec           1m35.081s  + 1.483s
18.  Anton Nebylitskiy    KMP              1m35.228s  + 1.630s
19.  Carlos Huertas       Fortec           1m35.329s  + 1.731s
20.  Andrea Roda          Draco            1m35.571s  + 1.973s
21.  Nikola Martsenko     BVM Target       1m35.686s  + 2.088s
22.  Benjamin Lariche     KMP              1m35.956s  + 2.358s
23.  Yann Cunha           Gravity-Charouz  1m36.340s  + 2.742s