Kovalainen Fastest on Final Day of Testing in Sepang
Sepang, Friday, 30 March 2007 – The first Official F1 Team Testing at Sepang Circuit concluded today with rookie driver Heikki Kovalainen clocking the fastest time of day at 1 minute 35.757 seconds but it still fell short of Kimi Raikkonen’s lap time on Tuesday.
Winner of the opening Australian Grand Prix, and already penned as the title contender by many, Raikkonen set a time of 1 min 35.258 seconds around the 5.543-km track on a hot and dry day in Sepang.
Making his debut for Renault this season, Kovalainen’s impressive showing came a day after he came last in the timesheet and complained on the lack of testing opportunities on Day 3, which was hampered by morning and evening showers.
It was, however, not an easy day for the 26-year old Finnish, who had to be scootered back to the pits twice after his car stopped in each of the morning and afternoon sessions, with weather conditions being a mixture of wet and dry.
The performance during the four-day testing, however, is not reflective of the scenario for the upcoming Malaysian GP next weekend especially with the absence of McLaren’s No 1 driver and defending champion Fernando Alonso.
Second fastest on the final day was Brazilian Felipe Massa who dismissed suggestions that his Ferrari team was currently the dominant force in the championship and that they looked like ‘a team out of this planet”.
“For sure, we are on the same planet,” said Massa, who highlighted that McLaren Mercedes and BMW Sauber were also fast in the season-opener at Albert Park, Melbourne.
“My target in Sepang will be to win as many points as possible. I like the track. It’s a bit hot, but it’s nice,” he told reporters when met at the sidelines during today’s test session.
Lewis Hamilton, who was fastest on Day 3, was unable to repeat his awesome performance and only managed eighth fastest with 1 minute 37.448 seconds.
OFFICIAL F1 TEAMS TESTING
FINAL CLASSIFICATION – FINAL DAY
1. Heikki Kovalainen (ING Renault F1 Team) 1:35.757s – 55 laps
2. Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:35.808s – 73 laps
3. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri F1 Team) 1:36.787s – 68 laps
4. Nico Rosberg (AT&T Williams) 1:37.002s – 105 laps
5. Franck Montagny (Panasonic Toyota Racing) 1:37.206 – 78 laps
6. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber F1 Team) 1:37.318s – 71 laps
7. Jenson Button (Honda Racing F1 Team) 1:37.326s – 37 laps
8. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:37.448s – 43 laps
9. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) 1:37.778s – 42 laps
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:38.542s – 56 laps
11. Pedro de La Rosa (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:39.100s – 25 laps
12. Christian Klien (Honda Racing F1 Team) 1:39.175s – 24 laps
