Portimao Test Day Two: Buemi & De La Rosa Still On Top

The second day of testing at the Algarve’s Portimao circuit concluded earlier, and once again Sebastien Buemi topped the tables in the 2008-spec. Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Swiss driver had a distinct advantage over the other teams in terms of lap time, but the four others on the circuit today gained by running their 2009 cars. The rain fell in the morning, and then again in the evening when the track was battered by a hailstorm.

Sebastien Buemi’s lap was 3s clear of Pedro De La Rosa in the new McLaren, which compared to yesterday is an improvement (or decline from the STR driver). De La Rosa therefore continued to be the faster of the 2009 cars, finishing his day after 62 laps and 5s ahead of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota TF109.

Nelson Piquet Jr. continued to test for Renault, putting the new R29 through its paces and finishing in fourth again. Unfortunately, the Enstone-based team suffered a mechanical fault with the engine and this lost Piquet a lot of track time; the Brazilian was only able to complete nine laps. Nico Rosberg completed the table in the new Williams FW31, ending up 6s down on Nelson Piquet Jr.

Portimao Test Day Two Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m34.429s	48 Laps
2.	Pedro De La Rosa McLaren	1m37.512s	62 Laps
3.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m42.399s	30 Laps
4.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m45.860s	9 Laps
5.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m51.580s	31 Laps

Meanwhile in Mugello…

It rained as well. Ferrari had hoped a return to Italy for their test would favour them with better weather, but alas it hasn’t worked out that way yet. Kimi Raikkonen continued to lap the team’s test track and evaluate the new Ferrari F60. The Finn completed 42 laps and set a best time of 1m33.920s, 0.5s faster than yesterday. Felipe Massa is due to return to the car tomorrow.

Photo © LAT Photographic | Ferrari Spa.