Hulkenberg fastest in Day 2 at Barcelona

The form guide for the 2010 Formula 1 season was turned upside down again during the second day of testing at Barcelona today.

Williams F1 rookie Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time, edging out Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso while doing qualifying simulation runs.

The German driver, who will partner Rubens Barrichello in the all-new driving line-up at the famous team, was pleased to end the day at the top of the times.

“We’ve had a good test here. P1 today is nice but means nothing, to be honest,” he said.

“It’s positive for the team, and for me, to know what the car can do though. We did a lot of set-up work today and have found some interesting things so I feel ready and confident to go to Bahrain now.”

Alonso was second at his home track, running a variety of different aerodynamic tweaks over the course of the day.

Both Hulkenberg and Alonso’s times were well faster than Mark Webber’s efforts in his Red Bull machine yesterday.

Also faster than Webber was BMW Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa, Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi and his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton were not dragged into the chase for lap times, concentrating on long race-distance tests.

Two days remain at Barcelona before the teams prepare for the first round of the season at Bahrain on March 12-14.

F1 Testing times from Barcelona, Spain, Day 2

1	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	1:20.614	99
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:20.637	134
3	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber	1:20.973	114
4	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:21.056	90
5	Sebasitian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:21.258	125
6	Jamie Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:21.571	104
7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	1:21.689	85
8	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:22.152	93
9	Robert Kubica	Renault F1	1:24.912	53
10	Jarno Trulli	Lotus	1:25.524	70
11	Timo Glock	Virgin	1:25.942	52