Mark Webber says there were 'no big surprises' for Red Bull during the first day of pre-season testing at Jerez, after working through a varied, 73-lap programe in the Andalusian region on Tuesday. Having briefly led proceedings, the Australian finished the day in second place, 0.848 seconds behind pace-setter Jenson Button.
"It was pretty good," Webber said after driving the RB9. "There haven’t been big changes to the regulations this year and the car is an evolution of the one we finished with last season, so there were no big surprises. I think most of the drivers will sit back and think today’s times were pretty competitive.
"It was actually like a Friday practice session in some regards. We started understanding the tyres and there were a lot of positives. There’s a bit of housekeeping we have to get on top of but, other than that, it’s been encouraging."
Webber went on to back up Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey's previous claim that the new Pirelli tyres pose the biggest change for the 2013 season, with the 36-year-old explaining that 'you're always on your toes' with the modified rubber.
"The car feels similar to last year’s, so the main difference is the tyres," said Webber, who is set for his 12th term in Formula 1. "With these tyres you’re always on your toes. It was good that we had consistent temperatures; we got a lot of information and feedback to analyse, which is all good. Generally though, the car feels pretty good, so I’m happy."
Webber will be back in the cockpit of the RB9 on Wednesday, before handing over to team-mate and triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel for the remainder of the test.
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Button | 01:18.861 | 37 |
| 2. | M. Webber | 01:19.709 | 73 |
| 3. | R. Grosjean | 01:19.796 | 54 |
| 4. | P. di Resta | 01:20.343 | 89 |
| 5. | D. Ricciardo | 01:20.401 | 70 |
| 6. | F. Massa | 01:20.536 | 64 |
| 7. | N. Hulkenberg | 01:20.699 | 79 |
| 8. | N. Rosberg | 01:20.846 | 14 |
| 9. | P. Maldonado | 01:20.864 | 84 |
| 10. | G. van der Garde | 01:21.915 | 64 |
| Full results | |||
| Mark Webber | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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