Currently reading: Lotus crashes; Barrichello fastest
Williams driver on top; heavy rain disrupts testing

Formula One testing resumed at Jerez, Spain on Thursday, with Williams's Rubens Barrichello topping the times during a rain-lashed day.

The wet weather restricted running for most of the front-runners, with the session even having to be stopped due to standing water at one point.

See F1 testing pictures from today's action, including the Virgin F1 spin

The conditions ensured plenty of wild moments for the drivers that did venture out, with the Virgin F1 car spinning off the track and into the gravel trap, and Kovalainen spinning in the Lotus, damaging its front wing during the session.

Kovalainen confirmed the spin was a result of his mistake, and the team does not have a replacement front nose section, taking it out of action for the day.

Jerez F1 test times

1. Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) 1:27.145 2. Petrov (Renault) 1:27.828 3. Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 1:28.162 4. Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 1:28.515 5. Massa (Ferrari) 1:28.879 6. de la Rosa (BMW-Sauber) 1:29.691 7. di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) 1:30.344 8. Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) 1:30.476 9. Liuzzi (Force India-Mercedes) 1:30.66610. Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:31.63311. Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:32.67812. Kovalainen (Lotus-Cosworth) 1:33.554

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Richard H 18 February 2010

Re: Lotus crashes; Barrichello fastest

Its common for the first test of a new car for there to be few spares.

Virgin had no spare when their wing fell off....

dennisthemenance 18 February 2010

Re: Lotus crashes; Barrichello fastest

Can you imagine the Lotus F1 team has no spare front wing to replace & therefore had to call it a day?

This is definitely the case of shoe string budget.

Perhaps they should rename it to "Air Lotus F1 team" instead of "Lotus F1 team."

I just cannot imagine the rest of the teams practicing with no spare parts in the event of an accident or breakdown.

What a way to start for them & I can't wait come March 14 / Bahrain GP.

VirginPower 18 February 2010

Re: Lotus crashes; Barrichello fastest

They're mostly working on heavy fuel set-ups at the moment. With that and the terrible weather, it's difficult to get any sense of what today's times represent in terms of a pecking order.