Kamui Kobayashi topped the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, setting the fastest time seen so far this week. The Sauber driver switched to Pirelli's soft compound in the final hour of the morning and was able to get down to a 1:22.312, just little ahead than Pastor Maldonado's Thursday benchmark. Maldonado was also his nearest challenger in this session, getting to within a quarter of a second of the C31 after switching to super softs tyres.
Paul Di Resta was one of only three drivers to improve their best time in the afternoon as he completed a lap on supersoft tyres, but after going off in the morning session he will have been pleased to pass 100 laps.
Jenson Button was fourth quickest, with his best time of 1:23.200 just 0.081s slower than di Resta. His total of 115 laps also meant that McLaren had broken the 100-lap barrier on every day of the test, although he ended the day walking back to the pits after causing a red flag with a minute to go.
In contrast, Ferrari only reached three figures for the first time in the final twenty minutes of the test, with fifth-placed Felipe Massa eventually completing 103 laps. The team admitted it was "better late than never", and it was an encouraging end to the test as Massa was 0.2s quicker than Mark Webber's Red Bull. After a gearbox problem affected his running on Thursday, Webber only managed 85 laps in total on Friday and will hope for more mileage next week...
A suspension issue meant Marussia were unable to complete a lap on the final day of testing for their 2011 car, the new MR-01 set to be unveiled in time for the third and final pre-season test from 1-4 March 2012.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:22.312 145
2. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:22.561 +0.249 134
3. Paul Di Resta Force India 1:23.119 +0.807 101
4. Jenson Button McLaren 1:23.200 +0.888 115
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:23.563 +1.251 103
6. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:23.774 +1.462 85
7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:23.792 +1.480 92
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:23.843 +1.531 139
9. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:26.968 +4.656 70
