Column: Barcelona day 2: Grosjean fastest on rainy day

Going into the lunch break, Jenson Button was at the top of the timing screens, however the day ended with the Lotus driver, Romain Grosjean, delivering the fastest time of all.

The day started off wet and dried up, similar to yesterday, which meant Button could set his fastest time in the morning session on the medium compound tyre (white markings). However, Grosjean beat his time on the soft compound tyre (yellow markings) and the McLaren driver had to settle for 2nd fastest overall.

Pastor Maldonado and Sebastian Vettel finished 3rd and 4th fastest, roughly a second behind Grosjean, with the German evaluating a new part on the car before Melbourne – something a lot of teams are focusing on in this last week of testing. A ’passive DRS’ system is what Red Bull are introducing to the RB9, which activates above a certain speed to reduce the drag created by the rear wing.

Hülkenberg was 5th and after being confirmed as Paul di Resta’s partner yesterday, Adrian Sutil finished 6th using the VJM06. Riccardo, Chilton and van der Garde were 7th, 8th and 9th, with Rosberg and Alonso at the back.

This was because Mercedes and Ferrari were running race simulations today, and didn’t drive when the track was at its driest. With a new front wing to be tested on Saturday, the Scuderia tested a new exhaust configuration, front wing end-plates and a diffuser.

However the BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson said that the Red Bull RB9 looks the most settled out on track.

He said, “The Red Bull looks well balanced with lots of grip, the McLaren and Sauber have understeer and the Lotus is well balanced but not as planted as the Red Bull. The Ferrari lacks rear grip. It really has no traction in the wet.”

Testing continues tomorrow at the Circuit de Catalunya.

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Driver profile

  • Team McLaren
  • Points 37
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  • Grand Prix 41
  • Country GB
  • Date of b. Jan 19 1980 (46)
  • Place of b. Frome, Somerset, GB
  • Weight 72 kg
  • Length 1.82 m
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