Jerez Day 4 – Kovalainen Somewhat Reassures Spirits
After a rather difficult winter, McLaren is somewhat reassured during this fourth day of testing in Jerez, Spain. Heikki Kovalainen managed to complete a lap in 1:18.202, even though the competition was limited on this day as only Kazuki Nakajima for Williams was also present on the track. The Woking team, which is conducting its […]
After a rather difficult winter, McLaren is somewhat reassured during this fourth day of testing in Jerez, Spain. Heikki Kovalainen managed to complete a lap in 1:18.202, even though the competition was limited on this day as only Kazuki Nakajima for Williams was also present on the track.
The Woking team, which is conducting its third day of testing on the circuit today, was at 1:19.000 these past two days, unable to keep up with the pace set by the Brawn GP and Renault cars, which completed their tests yesterday.
But the aerodynamic modifications that McLaren has made seem to be taking effect today as Kovalainen is only four-tenths of a second off Jenson Button’s best time of the week.
Williams therefore asked Kazuki Nakajima to complete his testing program. The Japanese driver completed 103 laps and finished second for the day with a best time of 1:20.014, 1.8 seconds behind Kovalainen.
Tomorrow, the two teams will be on track for testing for the last time this 2008/2009 off-season.
Results of Private Testing Spain – Jerez – Wednesday, March 18, 2009:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Kovalainen | McLaren | 1.18.202 | 83 | |
2 | Nakajima | Williams | 1.20.023 | +1.821 | 103 |