Raikkonen has first taste of new Ferrari

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-31 10:52


Ferrari's F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland steers through a curve during a training session at the Ricardo Tormo race track near Valencia, January 30, 2007.[Reuters]
Kimi Raikkonen drove Ferrari's 2007 car for the first time on Tuesday while his replacement at McLaren, double champion Fernando Alonso, set the pace in Formula One testing at Valencia.

A Ferrari spokesman said the Finn completed 47 laps, concentrating on development work after a rainy start to the day limited track time at the eastern Spanish circuit.

Raikkonen was the second fastest on the timesheets with a lap of one minute 13.529 compared to Alonso's best of 1:12.563.

Alonso stopped on the track with five minutes remaining of the session after what the Mercedes-powered team said was a minor oil leak.

Tuesday's test was the first at which all of the top teams were testing their new cars at the same time. Brazilian test driver Nelson Piquet junior was third fastest for world champions Renault in 1:13.550.

Renault decided to extend their test for an extra day due to the poor weather conditions.

"It was pretty frustrating today, waiting for the track conditions to improve," said Italian Giancarlo Fisichella. "We basically lost a day's work."

Compatriot Jarno Trulli had his first taste of the new Toyota TF107. "It is still too early to judge but my first impressions were positive," he said.



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