Barcelona II, day 1: Button fastest for McLaren at lunch

As we enter the month of March, all eyes naturally begin to focus on the season opening Australian Grand Prix. With the final week of testing kicking off at Barcelona earlier this morning, the teams’ will be trying their best to prepare for Australia without giving their true pace away.

As the track went green, the majority of the drivers’ went out to complete their usual installation laps. Mark Webber was first out for Red Bull, the Australian eager to prove his worthiness to the team in 2012. There was a slight change at Caterham, with Vitaly Petrov replacing Heikki Kovalainen who had unfortunately picked up food poising and was unable to take to the track.

It was the Russian who set the first timed lap of the day with a 01:33.600, before French rookie Jean-Eric Vergne shot to the top. He was shortly replaced at the top by Sergio Perez, with Sauber completing aero tests and work on mechanical set-up throughout the morning period.

Jean-Eric Vergne wasn’t settled with 2nd place, and quickly returned to the top for Toro Rosso. This luxury was short lived, as the Ferrari of Felipe Massa appeared out of nowhere with a 01:25.413. The Brazilian capitalized on that time with a further 01:24.828, going several tenths ahead of the Frenchman. However the battle at the top continued, as Vergne finally went top once again with a 01:24.379.

The McLaren of Jenson Button had spent most of the morning period completing practice pit-stops, until he went top with a 01:24.132, with Vergne close behind. The 2009 World Champion was on soft tyres, whereas Vergne was on the harder compound.

The times quickly began to tumble as the morning session wore on, as Mark Webber became the first driver into the 01:23s with a 01:23.993 on the medium Pirelli compound. Sergio Perez came out on the super-soft compound and went immediately fastest with a 01:23.865, before Button came around on hard tyres and posted an impressive 01:23.510.

The Williams of Pastor Maldonado was absent early on, completing only a handful of laps before reappearing to complete a total of 37 laps, ending the session 10th and last with a 01:25.587. Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg ended the session in good form, both 3rd and 4th respectively and just under half a second off Button’s pace.

The session ended under red flag conditions, as the Sauber of Sergio Perez ground to a halt at Turn 5, with the team announcing the car was out of fuel. The session will continue in the afternoon, with teams’ most likely planning longer race simulations.

Times at 1pm CET: