Defending drivers world champion Sebastian Vettel topped the times in Saturday morning?s final free practice session ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s European Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old German, driving his Red Bull car clocked a best lap in one minute and 37.258 seconds, four-tenths of a second clear of local favourite Fernando Alonso for Ferrari in front of a sun-kissed crowd at the Mediterranean port street circuit.
The 29-year-old Spaniard and two-times champion had been fastest for a period during the one-hour session, but finished up second ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa and fourth-placed Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull.
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Formula 1: Mark Webber Fastest in First Practice at Valencia
Formula 1: European Grand Prix - First Practice Results
Formula 1: Fernando Alonso Fastest in Second Practice at Valencia
Formula 1: European Grand Prix - Second Practice Results
Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Fastest in Final Practice at Valencia
Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren were fifth and seventh-quickest respectively either side of German Nico Rosberg who was sixth for Mercedes with his compatriot seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, 42, down in eighth place. AFP
Jaime Alguersuari was the first man out on track, leading out the field for their installation laps. Jarno Trulli set the early pace ahead of Timo Glock before Sergio Perez and then Alguersuari moved ahead of them.
Nick Heidfeld was the next to lead the way with a 1:41.903 before lowering the benchmark time to by eight-tenths. However, his reign was short-lived as Fernando Alonso hit the front with a 1:39.743 while Nico Rosberg took second place. Felipe Massa was fourth ahead of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil.
Massa improved his time, slotting in behind his team-mate while Jenson Button took third place, just half a second adrift of Alonso’s best. Meanwhile, neither Sebastian Vettel nor Mark Webber had posted a lap time despite half the session having already past.
The session ended with Vettel quickest ahead of Alonso and Massa and Kamui Kobayashi putting in a massive slide that ended with his front wing in the barriers.
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired 1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 01:37.3 2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:37.7 3 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:37.8 4 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 01:38.1 5 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 01:38.3 6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:38.6 7 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 01:38.7 8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:38.8 9 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:38.8 10 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:39.1 11 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 01:39.4 12 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 01:39.8 13 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 01:39.8 14 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 01:39.8 15 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 01:39.9 16 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 01:40.0 17 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 01:40.0 18 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 01:40.2 19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 01:41.3 20 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 01:41.7 21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 01:42.6 22 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 01:43.2 23 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 01:43.3 24 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 01:44.6
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