F1 testing: Ferrari have work to do, says Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso insists that Ferrari still have work to do ahead of the Australian Grand Prix next month after the Spaniard topped the timesheets on the penultimate day of the second pre-season test in Barcelona.

The Spaniard clocked a one minute 21.875 seconds – 0.285 seconds quicker than Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. McLaren’s Jenson Button was seventh, 0.965 seconds off the pace, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber ninth.

“Today we concentrated on a comparison of the compounds, starting with the Soft and moving on to the Hard in the afternoon,” said Alonso. “The track was colder than yesterday, especially in the morning, which made it harder to adapt the car and find the right grip level.

“We tried various aerodynamic configurations and for the first time, we made some set-up changes to get a good understanding of tyre behaviour and degradation.

“With every change we made, the car reacted as I expected and it was useful to try out the different settings, especially to understand which direction we need to go in next week, when there will be a greater emphasis on performance.

“Once again this year, the tyres will be one of the crucial aspects to manage: they are softer and quicker, but also less consistent and they degrade rapidly with every lap.

“We will have a lot of work to do to understand how best to balance the car, but that applies to all the teams.”