Lewis Hamilton pushed McLaren to the top of the unofficial timesheets in Barcelona today, also helping to secure the fastest combined performance for the team in three of the four Spanish winter test sessions.
Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets for Mercedes GP at Barcelona today, just a day after his team-mate Michael Schumacher said he didn’t feel the team was in a position to win races – and then declared he had been wrong.
Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg narrowly beat double world champion Fernando Alonso to the unofficial timesheet’s top spot during today’s testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Lewis Hamilton put in the fastest time of any set during the four days of testing at Jerez as all the teams seized on a dry afternoon to make their drivers work for their salaries.
It’s not been quite as dramatic as Jenson Button’s and Rubens Barrichello’s 2009 ascendancy with Brawn GP – but the subtle strength of Sauber and of its two race-deprived drivers could turn out to be the story of the 2010 tests.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa returned to the race track today for his first proper day at the office since a horrific accident at the Hungaroring in July looked to have put an end to his racing career – and promptly stuck his car at the top of the unofficial timesheet.
It had to happen, ever since the announcement in November that Mercedes had bought a controlling stake in Brawn GP. Any chance for fans to remain in denial any longer about the corporate German takeover of our plucky British privateers went out of the window on Monday with the official launch of the 2010 Mercedes Grand Prix car and its drivers.
Double DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom has taken his third Race of Champions title – by winning every single race he competed in then beating Michael Schumacher in the event’s final.
You wouldn’t have wanted to bet against Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel going into this year’s Race of Champions and, sure enough, the pair have pulled off their third straight win in the Nations Cup in as many years.
David Coulthard will be back behind the wheel of a race car in November when he joins Formula One World Champion Jenson Button and three-time World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx in Beijing for the Race of Champions.