bobby

Preparations for Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix continue in Jerez, Spain, this week with the Brawn GP, Renault, McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-Toyota teams in action. Other top runners have filled their quota of preseason tests and have no days of track running left before practice commences in Melbourne on March 27.

After a crash spoiled his progress Sunday, Fernando Alonso bounced back to take the top time for Renault, pipping the Brawn car of Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello—the quickest on Sunday--only drove in the morning before handing over to Jenson Button at lunchtime. However, the Briton was stopped after just 12 laps of a race-simulation run.

McLaren did not run on Sunday, and on Monday, Lewis Hamilton was outpaced by Alonso to the tune of nearly 1.2 seconds. The team will end its test a day later than its rivals, allowing it to get in some private running as it tries desperately to address the aerodynamic problems that have plagued the car thus far.

Nico Rosberg took over the Williams car after test driver Nico Hulkenberg drove Sunday and was the slowest of the five drivers to appear.

Conditions were warmer than in previous tests, and thus gave a slightly more reliable indicator of what to expect in the opening race in Australia.


Test Times

1. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1m 18.343s

2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 1m 18.398s

3. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 1m 18.892s

4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 1m 19.513s

5. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota, 1m 19.783s

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