Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello: Testing Day One

They say better late then never and so I finally get down to write about mid-season testing in Mugello.

Fernando Alonso was able to take quickest lap in Mugello on day one. The test was particularly crucial for Ferrari as the team looks to rectify it's early-season problems with a major upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix later this month. After a damp start to the day, Alonso set a 1:22.4 before the lunch break and was 1.204 clear of his nearest competitor, Mark Webber.

Rain  in the afternoon and at one stage, the weather was so intense the session had to be red flagged as the medical helicopter was not able to take off - not that it made much difference to the teams, which showed no desire to send their cars out in the worst of the weather and risk an accident.

Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso was third fastest behind Webber, but was the cause of the first red flag of the Mugello test when he ran wide at turn two within the first hour of testing. The other red flag came out when Alonso and Nico Rosberg stopped on the circuit simultaneously.

Most spectacular was that Jerome d'Ambrosio was fourth fastest as the ex-Virgin driver got his first taste of the Lotus E20. There were forums found all around the Internet found as many Lotus fans were upset at the idea that the teams third driver was given the helm during a complete day on tract. It is fantastic that d'Ambrosio was able to prove that he certainly does have a future in F1, coming fourth fastest on day one.

Times

	Driver	Car	Time	Laps
1.	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari F2012	1:22.444	38
2.	Mark Webber	Red Bull RB8	1:23.648	24
3.	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso STR7	1:23.891	32
4.	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Lotus E20	1:24.048	40
5.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes W03	1:24.100	49
6.	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber C31	1:24.736	43
7.	Oliver Turvey	McLaren MP4-27	1:25.303	30
8.	Jules Bianchi	Force India VJM05	1:25.475	18
9.	Roldolfo Gonzalez	Caterham CT01	1:27.197	33
10.	Charles Pic	Marussia MR01	1:27.359	45
11.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams FW34	1:29.179	23