Fernando Alonso got his Ferrari career off to a flying start by setting the fastest time of the major Formula 1 test at Valencia on Wednesday.
The double world champion took over from Felipe Massa and set a best time of one minute 11.470 seconds - more than half a second clear of the field.
Pedro de la Rosa’s Sauber was second, ahead of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes, which was 0.968secs off the pace.
McLaren’s Jenson Button ended the day 1.481secs slower than Alonso.
The Englishman said he had spent a lot of time in the garage during the morning sorting out a problem with his seating position in the car.
He added that he was happy with the McLaren’s reliability but that it was “too early” to judge the relative pace of the front-running cars.
Button said it had been a “tough day”, adding: “It would have been nice to get more testing done.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work making sure I’m comfortable in the car. I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be. I was quite high in the car and uncomfortable.
“I had to change a lot within the car. I fit well now and feel comfortable with my head in the car now.” BBC Sport
Button, who will partner 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, was eventaully fifth fastest on the day with a best time of 1min 12.951sec.
“This is the wrong place for us to be thinking about who is quick and who isn’t,” he said.
“I’m guessing everyone is going to be having updates for the first race anyway and with the difference in fuel loads, you could be running 10 kilos or 160 kilos, so there is a massive difference.”
Jaime Alguersuari, in a Toro Rosso, was fourth fastest in 1min 12.576sec, with Vitaly Petrov, the first Russian driver in F1, clocking 1.13.097 in a Renault.
Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg was seventh quickest in 1min 13.669sec. AFP
“It was a very good day,” said Alonso. “I found the car very easy to drive because Felipe was running two days and I’ve been taking this information from him and it was a help.
“Let’s wait (to see how the pace develops).”
“I’m very happy to have been back in a Formula One car this week,” Michael Schumacher reflected. “We had a short run on Monday and then almost a full day today which has been good.
“The experience has been very positive and the car is running smoothly with just a small hydraulic leak which stopped us slightly early today. The main focus is on reliability and doing as many laps as we can so we’re not too worried about looking at the lap-times right now.
“It’s a new challenge and a new experience for me this year but knowing Ross so well and working with him again has made it very easy and I feel at home in the team already. I’m feeling fresh and motivated and very positive about the season ahead.” Yahoo! Eurosport
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