Barcelona II, day 4: Raikkonen fastest at lunch

The final day of testing, both in Barcelona, and on the Formula 1 Winter Test 2012 schedule, got underway this morning, and it was Kimi Raikkonen who would end the last morning session at the top of the time sheets.

A surprise late session run from the ‘Iceman’ in his Lotus F1 E20 on the soft Pirelli tyre compound meant in just one lap he would post a 1:22.030, fast enough for first place on the time sheets, and also the fastest time again posted at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this year. Lotus F1 were looking to make up as much ground this morning after a lot of running time was lost yesterday when Raikkonen could not get comfortable with the steering of the car.

Fernando Alonso, who occupied the first place position for almost the entire morning’s session in his Ferrari F2012, would have to settle for second in the session, 0.220 seconds behind the blistering lap set by Raikkonen. A strong run from the Ferrari team did mean 63 laps would be achieved over the course of the morning though, which was the highest number of anyone this morning. The total laps completed were done in short bursts on the track; approximately five laps per stint.

Bruno Senna’s Williams F1 FW34 would place third this morning and good pace over 53 laps this morning meant the Williams would achieve a time just 0.046 seconds away from the pace set by Fernando Alonso. Bruno Senna will now make way for team-mate Pastor Maldonado who will drive this afternoon, meaning Senna’s first full F1 Winter Test is now complete.

Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India and Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber C31 were next on the time sheets, with an average morning of general data collection, flat line speed, and tyre compound runs were on the agenda for both teams this morning.

Making up for lost time due to the rain yesterday afternoon, Lewis Hamilton would place sixth throughout the morning. The agenda for McLaren was simple – run the car as much as possible. With 60 laps in total achieved, Hamilton would complete the second highest number of laps than anyone else.

Another good morning from Vitaly Petrov, back in the Caterham F1 CT-01 for the final day, placed the car seventh this morning, with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes AMG F1 W03 falling behind him pace wise, slotting into eighth overall. A series of upgrades to the Mercedes W03 meant the team would focus on different setup tests as opposed to fast runs.

Daniel Ricciardo would lay claim to completing the longest stint of anyone else this morning – 11 laps in a row. A heavier car combined with the medium tyre compound meant that the Toro Rosso would only manage ninth position this morning, and a full second off the pace set by first place sitter Kimi Raikkonen.

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel would complete just 15 laps this morning, and only 5 of those would be flying laps. Vettel’s first morning in the redesigned RB8 would be hindered by a damaged front wing, severely limited the cars track time. The team will be looking to run as long as possible this afternoon in order to get the most out of the new car before teams leave in preparation for Australia.

Day 4 AM Session times and total lap numbers can be seen below.

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