Lotus driver Romain Grosjean set the fastest time in Formula One testing for the second successive day on Friday, clocking a best lap of 1min 22.614sec.
Grosjean’s French compatriot Jean-Eric Vergne, who had topped the time charts with 1min 23.614 in the Toro Rosso in the morning session, finished the day as second fastest.
World champion Sebastian Vettel, in the Red Bull, was third, ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Testing continues until Sunday ahead of the first race of the 2012 Formula One season in Melbourne, Australia, on March 18.
Another former world champion Lewis Hamilton was down in ninth in his McLaren, but was adamant that the team had collected crucial information.
“Today was all about testing set-up. It was a good day: we learned quite a lot and improved a few things. We didn’t get a lot of mileage, as we had a lot of downtime in between changes,” said Hamilton.
“Our car feels better set-up wise, we still haven’t added the new aero package, so I think we’ll get a better picture of what the car will be like in Australia over the next two days. But I definitely feel like we have a competitive car.
“This year’s winter testing has been way better than last year. I’ve not had any problems, we’ve ironed out a lot of issues and I feel very comfortable. I’m fit and ready for Melbourne.”
Red Bull’s Mark Webber didn’t drive on Friday, having set the fourth fastest time on Thursday.
The Australian is predicting a tight season of racing compared to 2011’s whitewash.
“The racing will be between several teams and it is difficult to understand who is doing what at the moment, because we have such a big variation in fuel and tyre conditions,” he told British newspaper The Guardian.
“There are some phenomenal teams out there pushing very, very hard, like McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus as well. We are pretty happy so far, but that can change pretty quickly in F1.”
Webber, who finished third in the 2011 championship, is positive about Red Bull’s potential for 2012, although has admitted there are still “a few more boxes to tick” before Melbourne.
“We are all anxious to get to Melbourne eventually and see where all of our work is,” he said.
Friday’s times: 1. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault) 1:22.614 (124 laps), 2. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:23.126 (45), 3. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:23.361 (85), 4. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:23.447 (125), 5. Heikko Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham-Renault) 1:23.828 (104), 6. Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:23.836 (77), 7. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:23.893 (36), 8. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes-AMG) 1:23.978 (79), 9. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.111 (65), 10. Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams-Renault) 1:24.925 (48), 11. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Renault) 1:25.801 (20)
