Test in Valencia: Ferrari still at the top with Alonso

Ferrari still very fast in Valencia. On the third day of testing Fernando Alonso achieved the best time with the new Ferrari F10 in front of more than 35.000 Spanish fans. The two-time world champion managed to push straight away, breaking the 1'11" barrier already in the first hour and setting the best time of the day, 1.11.470, just before the lunch break.

What worries his opponents is not the time itself but the fact that it arrived immediately during a long run of another 8 laps.

Behind ALonso we find Pedro de la Rosa's Sauber C29, which was also fast today. Despite initial problems with a collision with Nico Hulkenberg, de la Rosa was consistently fast although the amount of fuel taken on board is unknown.

Michael Schumacher completed his first full day of testing with Mercedes GP with third fastest time. The new W01 is not yet equipped with the 2010 diffuser and the definitive front wing.
The German ended the test an hour early due to a small hydraulic problem after 82 laps.

Ross Brawn admitted the technical difficulties and the need to refine weight distribution to optimize performance with the 2010 front wheels.

Jaime Alguersuari showed Toro Rosso's improvements by not experiencing any technical problems and finishing fourth ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren Mercedes MP4-25. The world champion spent the first part of the session in the pits with the mechanics, perfecting his driving position before completing 82 laps.

Vitaly Petrov completed his first day of testing in an F1 car, finishing sixth ahead of Hulkenberg, who was slow despite the 126 laps completed.

F1 Valencia test times – Third Day

Pos Driver Team Lap Time
 1. Alonso Ferrari (B) 1:11.470 127
 2. de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari (B) 1:12.094 80
 3. M.Schumacher Mercedes GP (B) 1:12.438 82
 4. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:12.576 97
 5. Button McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.951 82
 6. Petrov Renault (B) 1:13.097 75
 7. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:13.669 126